Rapper and producer Ye, formerly Kanye West, took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal apologizing for years of antisemitic behavior and saying he had “lost touch with reality.” In the notice, he blamed an undiagnosed brain injury sustained in a 2002 car crash and untreated bipolar disorder for his actions, and said he is committed to “accountability, treatment and meaningful change.”
“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state,” he wrote, adding, “It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.” The ad, headlined “To Those I’ve Hurt,” described what Ye called a “four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior” in early 2025 that he said devastated his life.
The apology comes after intense global backlash to a string of antisemitic statements and the 2025 release of a song titled “Heil Hitler,” which was removed from major streaming services and resulted in the denial of his visa to travel to Australia. In the ad he also expressed remorse for prior praise of Adolf Hitler and for using swastika imagery.
This is not Ye’s first public apology for such remarks. In 2023 he apologized after saying “I love Nazis,” but some troubling behavior resumed afterward. He said the 2025 episode left him at “rock bottom” and that he had recently experienced suicidal thoughts.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) described the ad as overdue, saying an apology does not undo the harm and that true contrition would be demonstrated by refraining from antisemitic behavior in the future. An ADL spokesperson told Reuters, “We wish him well on the road to recovery.”
Ye also apologized in the ad to the Black community and to his family. Critics point to earlier controversies, including wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt in 2022 and attending a dinner with former President Donald Trump that included white supremacist and antisemite Nick Fuentes.
Streaming service Spotify lists Ye’s next album, Bully, as set for release on Friday.