Before building a prestigious career in the TV and entertainment industry, Keltie Knight was a girl from Edmonton, Canada that had big dreams and a love for dance. It was this beginning as well as her experience growing up with a family member that struggles with mental illness that propelled her toward New York and ultimately toward creating a community that supports others that live in and around mental illness.

“Mental illness is not one of those things. It’s a free flowing thing, and it’s for your whole life and you just have to follow it.” (20:55)

In this episode, Keltie shares how her mental health suffered as her popularity grew and how there was a lack of empathy for her as a successful woman in the industry. She also discusses the mental health crisis in Hollywood, including the current situation with Kanye West, and how these conversations give her perspective on the importance of compassion when unpacking her and other people’s struggles with mental health.

[On Kanye West] “I’m telling you that I believe he’s 75% a motherfucker, and 25% of this is out of his control… I’m giving him grace because I know this struggle, and I’ve been around this struggle my entire life.” (26:28)

“We as humans, we are allowed to feel whatever we need to feel in our situation. And so you can’t allow yourself to be like, ‘Oh well just because my house is not on fire, it’s not burning me.’ We have to be allowed to feel the feelings we have no matter what situation we’re in, and we have to let other people do the same thing.” (33:19)

With the LadyGang podcast, she and her co-hosts are working to create a safe community for women to be themselves, open up about their experiences, and break down the intimate obstacles and achievements that come with mental health and mental illness.