Why we should be paying serious attention to Tyrese’s mental health

Imagine walking away from a movie franchise that has grossed $4 billion worldwide with more to be made? That’s what singer/actor Tyrese Gibson fled to Instagram to do, this past Wednesday.

Gibson posted a photo on Instagram of himself, Dwayne Johnson, and their costar Vin Diesel, and threatened to walk out on the next Fast and Furious movie if Johnson is in it, in what has been a wildly escalating beef.

“I’m sorry to announce that if Dewayne is in Fast9 there will no more Roman Peirce” Gibson wrote. “You mess with family and my daughters survival I mess with yours……… close your eyes dude you’re a ‘Clown.'”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba9bgMNHQt7/

Tyrese hasn’t been too fond about his Fast co-star because of recent business decisions and that escalated all over social media for the whole world to see.

The feud between the two bubbled over for Gibson when he caught wind that Dwayne Johnson was planning a spin-off film, Hobbes, staring himself and Jason Statham based off the Fast series that did not include Tyrese.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaCMqRLF9ZQ/?taken-by=therock

I mean, I can understand bad blood over a couple of low ball jokes, but to threaten to leave a movie franchise if another character is in it is an indication of a deep seeded issue with Tyrese that stems far beyond what The Rock has actually done.

And such is the case. Tyrese is currently going through an ugly divorce that’s unfortunately limited the amount of time he spends with his daughter.

On his Instagram he’s been posting pictures and videos, sharing bits and pieces of his story with #Shaylarocks and #ParentAlienation hashtag. So the news of a potential delay to the production of Fast 9, and, more importantly, his paycheck for Fast 9 only adds insult to injury.

Gibson even said in a post, that he’s not mad about The Rock getting a spin-off movie per se, but rather that, given his financial circumstances, a bone wouldn’t be thrown his way.

“FYI I was never mad at The Rock – I was just mad that he was ‘pitched’ an idea privately and said yes to it without thinking of what I’m dealing with personally,” Gibson wrote alongside a pic of himself and Lee Daniels. “I’m almost broke paying legal fees and is doing what we committed to doing for the #FastFans and #FastFamily cause the fast is tradition it’s not just another Movie. Fast was created to COUNTER images of racism, to counter that WE ARE NOT ONE RACE.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ba9H8vCHvyV/?taken-by=tyrese

Matters became more seemingly dire, however, when Tyrese took to Facebook and had what could be described as an emotional breakdown, on camera.

https://www.facebook.com/tyrese/videos/2224401987587385/

At what point do we stop laughing and start asking questions? Because it’s when we normalize and make light of these emotional bursts that people will become less inclined to let them out.

Maybe going to social media was not the right method but when you’re not able to see a child you love after bleeding your pockets to do just that, I can see how correctness would become a secondary priority.

Parent alienation is probably something you could never imagine unless having gone through it but you have to admit it’s not a farfetched claim. After the hearing with his ex-wife Norma Gibson last week Gibson was hospitalized with chest pains, according to TMZ.

Tyrese is clearly going through some real shit. In September his ex-wife told People that Tyrese has been diagnosed as being bi-polar, a mental health disorder.  A payday as big as a Fast 9, one suddenly being pushed back, on top of being away from your daughter, understandably would trigger those symptoms.

But everyone doesn’t see what Tyrese is going through as a mental breakdown or a matter of mental health. Rather, just another rich celebrity being dramatic again.

This is why, from 2014-2015, only 9 percent of Black Americans voluntarily sought out psychological help according study conducted by National Institute of Mental Health. 

It’s also why African Americans are 20% more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population.

If you have been watching this feud between Tyrese and the Rock and wondered if something is wrong with Tyrese, the answer is clearly yes!

The internet is going to internet, meaning jokes are going to fly. But you would only be fooling yourself if you did not pay attention to the stresses your psyche is continually under.

Tyrese needs a publicist and a friend to take his phone away but he also needs people to wake up and realize that no amount of money can take away the duress your mental state can be under.