Kanye West apologizes for antisemitism in Wall Street Journal ad

Rapper cites untreated mental illness, vows accountability and change.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Rapper and fashion designer Kanye West, a.k.a. Ye, published a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal on Monday apologizing for his past antisemitic conduct and declaring that he is “not a Nazi or an antisemite.”

In an open letter addressed to “those I’ve Hurt,” West attributed his behavior in recent years to untreated head trauma from a 2002 car accident, which he said contributed to a lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder that he wrote was only properly diagnosed in 2023.

While doctors treated his broken jaw, he said, “the deeper injury, the one inside my skull, went unnoticed.”

Ye described manic episodes as producing a false sense of clarity and power, “when in reality you’re losing your grip entirely.”

In that state, he said, he “lost touch with reality” and engaged in “poor judgment and reckless behavior” that he now deeply regrets.

He singled out a four-month period in early 2025 during which he said he experienced “psychotic, paranoid, and impulsive behavior” that “destroyed my life.”

“In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it,” Ye wrote – a move that led to his fashion website being closed down within days in February.

A few months later, he released a song called “Heil Hitler” praising the Nazi leader, and posted pro-Hamas propaganda on social media.

Later that month, however, hours after a terrorist shouting “Free Palestine” murdered two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., Ye posted a series of messages on X saying he was “done with antisemitism.”

In November, he met with an Israeli rabbi, Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, and apologized for his past antisemitic remarks.

In the WSJ ad, he credited his wife with helping him begin what he called “an effective regime of medication, therapy, exercise and clean living.”

He said he now aims to focus his energy on “positive and meaningful… ideas to help the world.”

Saying that his bipolar disorder “does not excuse what I did,” Ye wrote that he was “committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change,” adding, “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”

Ye concluded by saying he was not asking for sympathy or a “free pass,” but rather “patience and understanding” as he works toward rehabilitation.

The rapper’s antisemitic controversies date back to 2022, when he expressed admiration for Hitler in a podcast, denied the Holocaust, and threatened to go “death con 3 on Jewish people” in a social media post.

The fallout cost him major business partnerships, including his music label, talent agency, and banking relationships, and earned him the “Antisemite of the Year” title from watchdog group StopAntisemitism.

In March 2023, he briefly reversed course, saying he “liked Jews again” after watching a Jonah Hill film.

Months later, however, he released a song titled “Israel,” describing an encounter with “the devil.”