MAUREEN CALLAHAN: Kanye's bare bum, his near-naked 'wife', her head in his crotch... all for the world to see. So will this vile new low be enough to bring him to HIS knees?

 

 CALLAHAN: Not even these images, it seems, are enough to sideline Kanye West. This latest stunt signifies the nadir of his misogyny: What looks to be an intimate act performed in public, in a boat in Venice, in a Catholic country at the height of tourist season, his 'wife' - always in scare quotes, can't even give her the dignity of formal recognition - seemingly on her knees, her head between his legs, her face caught not so much in ecstasy but despair. It all feels so seamy and desperate. Pornographic, really. But double standards are stubborn things, especially when you claim, as Kanye does, extreme Christianity - to the point of starting your own church. If this were Kanye's ex-wife Kim Kardashian, she'd be called an unfit mother, a national embarrassment, a slut and a whore. Consider that Britney Spears, Kanye's closest female analogue as a fallen star, has been ripped apart this summer for far less: Chasing a newly-minted NBA star through a Vegas lobby; installing a stripper pole in her home; posting videos of herself dancing in crop tops; getting a divorce; losing her sons. Her mental illness is still something the culture scorns. Kanye's is something the culture finds mesmerizing.