Ye, the US rapper and producer formerly known as Kanye West, placed a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal expressing regret for years of antisemitic behavior. In the ad he said he “lost touch with reality,” blaming an undiagnosed brain injury from a 2002 car crash and untreated bipolar disorder for his actions.
“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people,” he wrote.
His apology follows global backlash over repeated antisemitic statements and the 2025 release of a song titled “Heil Hitler,” which was banned from major streaming services and led to his visa to travel to Australia being denied. In the ad, titled “To Those I’ve Hurt,” Ye described a “four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior” in early 2025 that he said destroyed his life. “You think everyone else is overreacting. You feel like you’re seeing the world more clearly than ever, when in reality you’re losing your grip entirely,” he added. He also expressed regret for past praise of Adolf Hitler and use of swastika imagery.
This is not his first apology. In 2023 he apologized to Jews after saying “I love Nazis,” but later resumed some troubling behavior. Ye said he hit “rock bottom” after the 2025 episode and recently had suicidal thoughts. The Anti-Defamation League called the apology overdue, saying it does not undo the harm and that the truest apology would be refraining from antisemitic behavior in the future. An ADL spokesperson told Reuters, “We wish him well on the road to recovery.”
Ye also apologized to the Black community and to his family. In 2022 he provoked outrage by wearing a T-shirt reading “White Lives Matter,” widely seen as an affront to the Black Lives Matter movement, and by attending a dinner with former President Donald Trump that included white supremacist and antisemite Nick Fuentes.
Spotify lists Ye’s next album, Bully, for release on Friday.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru