• Kanye West recently interviewed his friend and interior designer Axel Vervoordt for The Hollywood Reporter.
• During the conversation, West compared Kim Kardashian West to an infamous historical figure.
• "With my wife, I see her as a representation, as a Marie Antoinette of our time."
• Fans are torn over whether a comparison to Marie Antoinette — who was the last queen of France, arrested and beheaded by her own people — should be a compliment.

Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West have a love story for the ages. The couple is known for their extravagant displays of love and affection, and West has proven himself to be quite the attentive, doting husband. 

However, even self-proclaimed geniuses slip up sometimes — and that seems to be the case with West's most recent declaration. In a conversation with his friend and interior designer Axel Vervoordt for The Hollywood Reporter, West compared his wife to a controversial historical figure.

"I see her as a representation, as a Marie Antoinette of our time," West told Vervoordt. 

Antoinette was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She is most famously associated with the phrase "Let them eat cake," which she probably never said but was intended to demonstrate how out-of-touch and careless the aristocrats were during a time of great poverty and hunger.

Although West did not elaborate on the thought, he did go on to say that Kardashian West is "a master of light" (while he himself is "a master of time"). It's unclear how the metaphors are connected, but it does seem clear that West meant the comparison to Antoinette to be a compliment.

Twitter users, however, felt otherwise. Many pointed out that Antoinette was despised by her people and eventually beheaded.

This is actually not the first time West has compared his wife to the 15-year-old monarch. In a 2016 cover story for Harper's Bazaar, he said that Kardashian West "represents our modern day Marie Antoinette" because of her polished image.

"My wife is the face of the change of fashion, where designers who literally wouldn't let her sit in shows are now making entire collections based off of her shape," he said. "She gets hair and makeup every day, not just for a photo shoot. Why? Because every day is a photo shoot."

Some fans on social media think that the comparison is fitting — perhaps because both women were very privileged, allegedly vain, and highly scrutinized from a young age.

According to History.com, Antoinette — along with her husband, King Louis XVI — came to symbolize "all of the excesses of the reviled French monarchy," although "the nation’s difficulties were not the young queen's fault." The website also notes that she "became the target of a great deal of vicious gossip."

Interestingly — although West has called Kardashian West his "muse" and praised her nude selfies as a "modern version of a painting" — he also told Vervoordt that her preferred social media platform, Instagram, can become a vehicle of misinformation and over-inflated egos.

"We are all being attacked by things made not for the right reasons, whether from lack of education or lack of responsibility," West said. "There has to be a responsibility in design, whether it's apparel, tech, Instagram, where you get so many likes, so it's a dopamine that attacks your ego and your esteem."

The interview is full of classic Kanye-isms that fans will love to unpack. You can read the whole thing here.

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