Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, apologized for his years of antisemitic and other controversial comments in a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal.
In the lengthy note, titled “To Those I’ve Hurt” (and paid for by Yeezy), West issued his apology alongside a discussion of his battle with bipolar disorder. Noting that he was not properly diagnosed until 2023, West linked his mental health struggles to undiagnosed and unexamined head trauma he might’ve suffered in the 2002 car crash that shattered his jaw (and inspired his debut solo hit, “Through the Wire”).
“I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem,” West wrote of his recent manic episodes. “I said and did things I deeply regret. Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst. You endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to love someone who was, at times, unrecognizable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self.”
Describing what it’s like to be in a manic episode, West said, “you don’t think you’re sick,” and it feels like “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. Once people label you as ‘crazy,’ you feel as if you cannot contribute anything meaningful to the world.”
He added, “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, and unstoppable.”
West went on to admit that in this “fractured state I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold t-shirts bearing it.” (West started selling the swastika merch on his website last February, while a few months later he released a song called “Heil Hitler.” But even before that, there had been other public incidents involving praise for Hitler and the promotion of Nazi iconography, along with numerous antisemitic outbursts. Rolling Stone has also reported that West’s fascination with Hitler and Nazis goes back several decades.)
In his apology, West continued: “One of the difficult aspects of having biopolar type-1 are the disconnected moments — many of which I still cannot recall — that lead to 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. It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
West also apologized to the Black community, which he said “held me 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.”
According to West, the four-month “manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior” he endured early last year nearly “destroyed my life.” He even appeared to admit to some apparent suicidal ideation, saying, “As the situation became increasingly unsustainable, there were times I didn’t want to be here anymore.” He credited his wife, Bianca Censori, with encouraging him to finally get help after he finally hit “rock bottom a few months ago.”
West said he has been searching for a “new baseline and new center through an effective regime of medication, therapy, exercise and clean living.” He also said he has found comfort in Reddit forums, where people share their own experiences of “being in manic or depressive episodes of a similar nature.” West said, “I read their stories and realized that I was not alone.”
In closing out his apology, West said he has found some “much-needed clarity” and is putting his “energy into positive, meaningful art: music, clothing, design, and other new ideas to help the world.” He concluded: “I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness. I write today simply to ask for you patience and understanding as I find my way home.”
This is not the first time West has apologized for his behavior and offensive comments. In December 2023, after several years’ worth of antisemitic comments, he published a note on Instagram, written in Hebrew, that read, “I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any ‘unintended outbursts, caused by my words or actions. It was not my intention to hurt or demean, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused.”
