Kanye West reacts to letter from late mother’s cosmetic surgeon, who asks rapper not to use his image for album

Photo by BG008/Bauer-Griffin/GC ImagesOn Saturday, Kanye West shared an image of his late mother’s cosmetic surgeon on Twitter and stated, “This is my album cover. This is plastic surgeon Jan Adams, The person who performed my moms final surgery.”

Kanye’s mother, Donda West, died in 2007, one day after undergoing liposuction, breast-reduction and tummy-tuck surgery.

Adams has long claimed he was scapegoated for her death, and insists the focus should be on West’s cousin, a nurse named Stephan Scoggins, who had apparently taken responsibility for Donda’s recovery following the surgeries.

In an open letter to Kanye, as posted by The Blast, Adams writes, “Thank you for thinking of me for the cover of your next album… Unfortunately, I have to decline at this time, and I ask that you cease and desist using my photo or any image of me to promote your album or any of your work.”

Adams goes on to suggest that the surgery was successful and that Kanye’s focus should be elsewhere: “So if your journey is true… ‘To forgive and stop hating’ … start by dealing with the facts. Perhaps you should put your cousin’s picture on your next album. Don’t put my picture out there and claim you are about love.”

Upon seeing the open letter, Kanye shared it with his fans and tweeted, “Open letter from Jan Adams. This is amazing. Thank you so much for this connection brother. I can’t wait to sit with you and start healing.”

Kanye’s West’s as-yet-untitled new album is due June 1, followed by a collaborative disc with Kid Cudi called Kids See Ghost on June 8.