Kanye West has issued an apology to Black and Jewish communities after years of spewing racist and antisemitic beliefs.
“I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret. Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst,” he wrote in an ad in the Wall Street Journal.
“You endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to have someone who was, at times, unrecognizable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self,” the “Donda” emcee, 48, added.
“In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it.”
West, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, said his illness prompted him to have “poor judgment and reckless behavior that oftentimes feels like an out-of-body experience.”
“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change,” he penned.
“It does not excuse what I did though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people,” West declared.
The Grammy winner then spoke directly to the Black community, who he claimed “held [him] down through all of the highs and lows and the darkest of times.”
“The black community is, unquestionably, the foundation of who I am. I am so sorry to have let you down. I love us,” West wrote.
“My words as a leader in my community have global impact and influence. In my mania, I lost complete sight of that.”
The rapper said he is not “asking for sympathy, or a free pass,” but he wants to “earn” people’s forgiveness.
“I write today simply to ask for your patience and understanding as I find my way home,” he wrote.
West explained in his letter that he wasn’t “properly diagnosed” until 2023, more than two decades after he suffered a brain injury in a car crash.
“That medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type-1 diagnosis,” he wrote.
“The scariest thing about this disorder is how persuasive it is when it tells you: You don’t need help. It makes you blind, but convinced you have insight. You feel powerful, certain, unstoppable,” the fashion designer shared.
West has made several controversial statements over the years.
In 2022, the hip-hop hitmaker rocked a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to a surprise Yeezy fashion show in Paris.
That October, West tweeted that he was going to go “death con 3” on Jewish people. The remark caused several companies to cut ties with the dad of four, including Adidas.
The following year, West wore a black Ku Klux Klan hood to his “Vultures” album listening party.
He also promoted swastika T-shirts in a 2025 Super Bowl ad and released a song titled “Heil Hitler.”
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