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In Whose Name? is a documentary film directed by Nico Ballesteros that provides an unfiltered, six-year look into the life of the controversial and influential artist, Kanye West, also known as Ye. It documents Ye's journey through personal and professional challenges, including his struggles with his bipolar diagnosis, the collapse of his marriage, and the loss of major brand sponsorships.
The film's strength lies in its raw, "fly-on-the-wall" perspective, which was captured over 3,000 hours of footage. It places Ballesteros not only as a director but as an intimate witness and chronicler of Ye's public and private life. Unlike a traditional biopic, In Whose Name? features several public figures and celebrities such as Drake, Elon Musk, Rihanna, Chris Rock, and LeBron James, all of whom appear as themselves.
Every celebrity who appears as themselves in the Kanye West documentary In Whose Name?
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Listed below are all the celebrities featured as themselves in the documentary:
- Playboi Carti (Jordan Terrell Carter)
- Michael Che
- Consequence (Dexter Raymond Mills Jr.)
- Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham)
- Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta)
- Kris Jenner
- Charlie Kirk (Charles James Kirk)
- David Letterman
- Marilyn Manson (Brian Hugh Warner)
- Elon Musk
- Joel Osteen
- Rihanna (Robyn Rihanna Fenty)
- Amber Rose
- Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Daoud Dean)
- Pharrell Williams
- Anna Wintour
- Ye (Kanye Omari West)
- Lil Dicky (David Andrew Bird)
- DMX (Earl Simmons)
- Chris Rock
- Diddy (Sean Combs)
- James Turrell
- Anna Wintour
- Kenny G
The making of In Whose Name?
The making of the documentary In Whose Name? was a six-year-long project initiated by director Nico Ballesteros when he was just 18 years old. Ballesteros gained unprecedented, "fly-on-the-wall" access to Ye's life, filming over 3,000 hours of raw, unfiltered footage, most of it captured using an iPhone. This enormous library was compressed into a 104-minute movie that offers a close-up view of Ye's troubled personal and professional life.
Ballesteros has stated in interviews that he has been using observational documentary filmmaking since childhood. He believes that by employing this strategy, he was able to "fade into the background" and record scenes that weren't part of Ye's public performance. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ballesteros stated:
“For a shy kid, the camera became both a shield and a window, a way to channel my introspection while still engaging with the world. Ye has always had someone filming him too, a lens between him and the noise. Maybe that’s why we understood each other without saying much. I was able to fade into the background, stay present, the camera always rolling, catching moments outside the public performance.”
The film contains no third-party commentary or voice-over, leaving the audience to draw their own conclusions. The film's producer, Simran A. Singh, stated that the team deliberately chose this method to avoid any "agenda" or "filter," aiming for a level of honesty rarely seen in documentaries. In Whose Name? was released in theaters on September 19, 2025.
Stay tuned for more updates.
