Ye, the hip-hop artist formerly known as Kanye West, took out an ad in The Wall Street Journal Monday apologizing for previous statements widely considered antisemitic.
In a full-page advertisement in the journal, titled “To the people I’ve hurt,” Ye wrote, “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
Ye apologized for his history of “reckless” antisemitic comments, attributing his behavior to an undiagnosed brain injury and mental health issues.
He referenced a car accident nearly 25 years ago in which he suffered damage to the frontal lobe of his brain. “It wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2023,” he said, adding that “medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar Type 1 diagnosis.”
“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment and meaningful change,” he said.
Ye wrote that his words as a leader in his “community have global impact and influence. In my mania, I lost complete sight of that,” he shared. ”As I find my new baseline and new center through an effective regime of medication, therapy, exercise and clean living, I have newfound, much-needed clarity."
“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,” he concluded.
This is not the first time he has apologized for his behavior. In a December 2023 Instagram post, he apologized to the Jewish community for his antisemitic behavior, writing at the time he “deeply regret(ted) any pain I may have caused,” as reported by USA Today.
However in 2025, Ye once again sparked backlash when he voiced more antisemitic comments in a series of tweets, and took out a Super Bowl ad for a T-shirt with a swastika, according to USA Today.
How are people responding?
In response to an NBC News request for comment following the advertisement, the Anti-Defamation League said, “Ye’s apology to the Jewish people is long overdue and doesn’t automatically undo his long history of antisemitism — the antisemitic ‘Heil Hitler’ song he created, the hundreds of tweets, the swastikas and myriad Holocaust references — and all of the feelings of hurt and betrayal it caused.”
“The truest apology would be for him to not engage in antisemitic behavior in the future. We wish him well on the road to recovery,” a spokesperson for the organization continued.
Users on X reacted to the rapper’s apology. One shared, “If sincere, I truly feel for this guy,” while another user ran the apology through an AI detection system to confirm his sincerity, which confirmed it was 100% human written.
One user shared, “This sounds like the most cohesive, sincere and thought through thing Ye has said in nearly 8 years. Keeping my fingers crossed he gets better.”
Another added, “You don’t have to forgive Kanye West, or believe he has changed. But I do wish more people understood mental health disorders more.”
Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, shared his thoughts on X.
“I don’t speak for the Jewish community—only for myself. Kanye West’s apology is unusually moving and deeply self-reflective," Dubowitz posted on X.
Some, like British broadcaster Piers Morgan, were less forgiving.
“Hmmmm. ‘My mental health made me a Nazi’ feels like a stretch, even by modern standards of celebrities playing the MH card to excuse awful behaviour,” Morgan posted.