Photo by Jacopo M. Raule/Getty Images For Balenciaga
Today, Vanity Fair published an email interview with Ye regarding his previous apology that ran as an ad in the Wall Street Journal. In the article, VF noted that Ye "declined to answer [certain questions], including those about where his antisemitic sentiments may have originated from and why, and how he has made amends in his personal life."
In the interview, Ye challenged the claim that he apologized for commercial reasons, implying he didn't need to given that he was "in the top 10 most listened-to artists overall in the US on Spotify in 2025." On January 30, Ye is set to release his new album, Bully.
"My upcoming album, Bully, is currently one of the most anticipated pre-saves of any album on Spotify too," he said. "This ... isn’t about reviving my commerciality. This is because these remorseful feelings were so heavy on my heart and weighing on my spirit."
"I look at wreckage of my episode and realize that this isn’t who I am. As a public figure, so many people follow and listen to my every word. It’s important that they realize and understand what side of history that I want to stand on. And that is one of love and positivity," Ye continued.
Elsewhere, the disgraced artist reaffirmed his prior statement that he only realized the scope of the harm he caused his loved ones and Jewish and Black communities after he was "out of the [manic] episode and in treatment."
Ye also provided further clarity on his path to recovery, sharing that his medication changed toward the end of a "four-month-long manic episode" in 2025 — a time when he praised Hitler and declared himself a Nazi. After starting his new medication, Ye and his wife Bianca Censori "sought out what’s been effective and [instituted a] stabilizing course correction in [his] regime from a rehab facility in Switzerland."
"The African American community has a hypersensitivity to antipsychotic drugs, more than most groups. Finding the right dosage is difficult, but it’s important and critical to finding the right balance with the illness. Zombifying otherwise becomes a side effect of a high dosage. The side effects as such have been a reality for me at times," Ye added of his struggles with medication.
Longtime fans, industry peers and Jewish community leaders have historically been skeptical of Ye's intentions with past apologies, especially given his history of making antisemitic remarks again afterwards.
Meanwhile Breakfast Club host Charlamagne Tha God commented that he felt the apology is "real," noting that Ye has been out of the public eye for a long time. "I feel like he's been doing the work on himself ... I want to see him get healed."
