Globally renowned music star Kanye West has paid for and published a full page letter including an apology in The Wall Street Journal for his antisemitic remarks and has denied being a Nazi.

The 48 year old rapper Ye, most commonly still known as Kanye West despite his best efforts, took out the full page advertisement on Monday apologising to his family and the Black community and asserting his love for Jewish people. He attributed his “poor judgment and reckless behaviour” to his bipolar disorder, which he linked to his infamous 2002 car crash that later inspired his chart topping hit Through the Wire.

He wrote:

“Twenty five years ago, I was in a car accident that broke my jaw and caused injury to the right frontal lobe of my brain. At the time, the focus was on the visible damage, the fracture, the swelling, and the immediate physical trauma."

Later in the statement, it read:

That medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type 1 diagnosis. Bipolar disorder comes with its own defense system."

In coverage of the apology, West also wrote that he had “lost touch with reality” during some of his most controversial behaviour and that he was now committed to accountability, treatment and meaningful change. He said of his severe outbursts, including promoting Nazi imagery and offensive statements.

“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.”

In the statement, which he titled “To Those I’ve Hurt,” he took some responsibility for his past antics, which included a series of antisemitic tweets such as the following:

“IVE HAD MY SWASTIKA T SHIRT IDEA FOR OVER 8 YEARS IT WAS SO INTRIGUING TO ME THAT A SYMBOL HAD SO MUCH PROGRAMING IN IT”

In another similarly offensive tweet posted on February 7 2025, he said,

“I’m a Nazi” and “Some of my best friends are Jewish and I don’t trust any of them”.

Addressing the community he had wronged, he said:

"One of the difficult aspects of having bipolar type 1 are the disconnected moments, many of which I still cannot recall, that led to poor judgment and reckless behavior that oftentimes feels like an out of body experience."

Understandably, not all members of the Jewish community would accept his apology or even view the statement as genuine, largely because this is not the first apology West has made to the Jewish community. In 2023, the father of four, who shares his young children with American media personality and global star Kim Kardashian, apologised for a series of antisemitic remarks he made in 2022, including,

“I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE”.

Nonetheless, in 2025 West began selling swastika T shirts, prompting the commerce platform Shopify to take down his webstore. Later that same year, he released a song titled Heil Hitler, which sampled a speech by Hitler and praised the Nazi leader.

Not all of his negative posts and actions were aimed at the Jewish community, and at times it appeared that any community, including his own Black American community, could become his next target. Far removed from the Kanye whose early musical catalogue focused on the struggles of Black Americans, and who in 2005 criticised then US President George Bush for his response to Hurricane Katrina by saying he did not care about Black people, West made the controversial statement in 2018 that “slavery was a choice”. While appearing at the TMZ headquarters, he said:

“When you hear about slavery for 400 years … For 400 years? That sounds like a choice.”

West also addressed that series of controversies from what appeared to be a more grounded place, stating:

“To the Black community, which 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.”

In early 2025, he claims to have fallen into a four month long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed his life. As the situation became increasingly unsustainable, there were times he didn’t want to be here anymore. He wrote that living with bipolar disorder was a “state of constant mental illness” and explained:

“Once people label you as “crazy,” you feel as if you cannot contribute anything meaningful to the world. It’s easy for people to joke and laugh it off when in fact this is a very serious debilitating disease you can die from.”

West thanked his wife, Australian architect and performance artist Bianca Censori, for encouraging him to seek help. He also admitted to treating his loved ones the worst. Those loved ones may have included his ex wife, whom he publicly accused of taking “control” of his “black children,” and their eldest daughter, 12 year old North West, whom he publicly called a traitor. He acknowledged that they “endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to have someone who was, at times, unrecognisable”.

West concluded the very public apology by writing:

“My words as a leader in my community have global impact and influence. In my mania, I lost complete sight of that. As I find my new baseline and new centre through an effective regime of medication, therapy, exercise, and clean living, I have newfound, much needed clarity. I am pouring my energy into positive, meaningful art, music, clothing, design, and other new ideas to help the world. I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness. I write today simply to ask for your patience and understanding as I find my way home.
With love,
Ye”