Kanye West has been criticised for his music video for his new single, "Eazy," which depicts West beheading a figure who closely resembles SNL comedian Pete Davidson and burying him alive.

The black and white video shows West inflicting exaggerated acts of violence mostly in stop-motion animation with an aesthetic similar to Tim Burton animations.

The clip turns even darker when Kanye West appears, holding a severed head that is strongly suggested to belong to Pete Davidson. A claymation version of the rapper rides in on a motorcycle to throw a bag over the claymation head. West puts the tied-up comedian on the back of his bike and drives away.

He later buries a still-restrained Davidson in the ground with just his head above the earth and sprinkles rose seeds over him. West waters the flowers and cuts enough for them to fill the bed of a truck, likely alluding to the truckload of roses he sent Kim Kardashian West for Valentine's Day.

"Eazy" also contains the lyrics: "God saved me from the crash, just so I can beat Pete Davidson;s ass", a direct reference to Pete and his nearly fatal car accident in 2002.

"We havin' the best divorce ever," he rapped in the song. "If we go to court, we'll go to court together. Matter of fact, pick up your sis, we'll go to Kourt's together. I watched four kids for like five hours today.

"I wear these Yeezy boots everywhere, even in the shower today. I got love for the nannies, but real family is better. The cameras watch the kids, y'all stop takin' the credit", he added.

Kanye ended the clip with a direct message to the Saturday Night Live star: "Everyone lived happily ever after, except Skete" before crossing out the name and writing "you know who".

Following the release of the video, many people took to social media condemning the imagery West used to depict Davidson's demise and the message he's sending to Kardashian and Davidson with the clip, suggesting both seek restraining orders against the artist.

"I'm having trouble supporting any Kanye content right now," one user wrote on Instagram. "I just can't take his long history of being abusive to women anymore."

One user said West was "definitely gonna get hit with a restraining order for this one," while another warned, "Someone need [to] stop this man before he commit a crime."