Rapper and fashion designer Kanye West has issued a public apology to Jewish and Black communities, seeking to atone for years of antisemitic and racially charged statements that have cost him business partnerships, damaged his public standing, and drawn bipartisan condemnation.
In a full-page advertisement published in The Wall Street Journal, West, 48, wrote that he had “lost touch with reality” and acknowledged that his behavior had caused deep harm to people closest to him and to broader communities.
“I said and did things I deeply regret,” West wrote. “Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst.”
West directly addressed Jewish readers, writing that they had endured “fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to have someone who was, at times, unrecognizable.” He said that during what he described as a manic period, he gravitated toward “the most destructive symbol” he could find — the swastika — and acknowledged selling merchandise bearing the symbol.
The apology marks West’s most direct and expansive efforts to distance himself from conduct that has repeatedly drawn accusations of antisemitism, including public praise of Adolf Hitler, the promotion of swastika imagery, and threats directed at Jewish people on social media.
West said his actions were connected to untreated bipolar disorder, which he said was not properly diagnosed until 2023, decades after a car crash that he says contributed to long-term mental health challenges.
“That medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type-1 diagnosis,” West wrote, describing episodes of what he called poor judgment and reckless behavior. He said the disorder often created a false sense of clarity and invincibility, even as it impaired his decision-making.
“It does not excuse what I did,” West wrote. “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
West also addressed the Black community, writing that it had been the foundation of his identity and career and apologizing for what he described as letting people down.
“The Black community is, unquestionably, the foundation of who I am,” West wrote. “I am so sorry to have let you down.”
He said he was not seeking sympathy or a “free pass,” but asked for patience as he pursues treatment and accountability, writing that he hoped to “earn” forgiveness over time.
In 2022, West wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt at a Paris fashion show. Later that year, he tweeted that he would go “death con 3” on Jewish people, prompting companies including Adidas to sever business ties.
In subsequent years, West wore a Ku Klux Klan-style hood at a listening event, promoted swastika-branded merchandise, and released music and promotional material that referenced Nazi imagery, further intensifying backlash from Jewish organizations, civil rights groups, and political leaders.
In November, West met with Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, where he privately apologized for past antisemitic remarks.
Whether the apology will translate into reputational rehabilitation or renewed business relationships remains unclear. But the statement signals a calculated attempt by West to reenter mainstream cultural and commercial spaces after years of self-inflicted isolation driven by rhetoric that placed him at the center of some of the most high-profile antisemitism controversies in recent pop culture history.
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One Response
That’s the curse of bipolar. 1 minute you’re cursing like an anti-semite and the next minute you’re going on an apology tour. Doesn’t mean he really regrets, the next manic hype he can do the same thing. Take those meds duuuude