Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has issued his most thorough apology yet for past antisemetic behaviour and remarks in a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal.
In the nearly 750-word statement, Ye connects years of sustained antisemitic rhetoric and actions, which included the release of a song in May 2025 titled “Heil Hitler”, to the ongoing aftermath of a 2002 car accident which he famously recounted in his breakout single “Through The Wire”. The accident, Ye writes, “caused injury to the right frontal lobe of [his] brain.”
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“The possibility of a frontal-lobe injury was never raised,” Ye goes on. “It wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2023. That medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type-1 diagnosis.”
Ye has been no stranger to controversy throughout his career, but the prolific artist, producer, designer and former Presidential candidate's career has been cratering since 2022 when he made a series of antisemitic statements, designed a “White Lives Matter” shirt, and posted a swastika on X (leading to his temporarily ban from the platform). In the years to follow, Ye would further ostracize himself from the industry, eventually releasing his infamous “Heil Hitler” song which far-right figures like Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes were seen listening to.
Amidst it all, concerns about Ye’s mental health continued to arise; he shared a new song “COUSINS” in April 2025, where he raps about an alleged adolescent sexual relationship he had with a male cousin. He also made disparaging remarks about the mental capacity of Jay-Z and Beyonce’s children, Rumi and Sir, showed up uninvited to the Grammy’s with his wife, Bianca Censori, (who was essentially naked), and further entrenched his status as an antisemite by declaring himself "Yadolf Yitler.”
Now, Ye is contextualizing that alarming period in 2025 as part of “a four-month long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life.” He shared that throughout it, “there were times [he] didn’t want to be here anymore.”
The apology, shared today, comes after a series of years where Ye issued reversals of his antisemetic remarks, just to declare his offensive views again. In March 2023, after posting Nazi content on X, he shared that watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street made him “like Jewish people again.” In December 2023, he posted a formal apology in Hebrew on Instagram, writing: ““It was not my intention to offend or demean, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused.” In February 2025, apparently amidst his aforementioned manic episode, he retracted his 2023 apology, saying, ““I’m never apologizing for my Jewish comments” on X.
His January 2026 apology is his longest and most conciliatory, and contextualizes his past behavior as part of his ongoing battle with mental illness.
Read West’s full statement below:
"To Those I’ve Hurt:
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. The deeper injury, the one inside my skull, went unnoticed.
Comprehensive scans were not done, neurological exams were limited, and the possibility of a frontal-lobe injury was never raised. It wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2023. 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. Denial. When you’re manic, you don’t think you’re sick. You think 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. 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. According to the World Health Organization and Cambridge University, people with bipolar disorder have a life expectancy that is shortened by ten to fifteen years on average, and a 2x-3x higher all-cause mortality rate than the general population. This is on par with severe heart disease, type 1 diabetes, HIV, and cancer - all lethal and fatal if left untreated.
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, unstoppable.
I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. 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 have someone who was, at times, unrecognizable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self.
In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it. 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. 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.
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, I fell into a four-month long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life. As the situation became increasingly unsustainable, there were times I didn’t want to be here anymore.
Having bipolar disorder is notable state of constant mental illness. When you go into a manic episode, you are ill at that point. When you are not in an episode, you are completely ‘normal’. And that’s when the wreckage from the illness hits the hardest. Hitting rock bottom a few months ago, my wife encouraged me to finally get help.
I have found comfort in Reddit forums of all places. Different people speak of being in manic or depressive episodes of a similar nature. I read their stories and realized that I was not alone. It’s not just me who ruins their entire life once a year despite taking meds every day and being told by the so-called best doctors in the world that I am not bipolar, but merely experiencing “symptoms of autism.”
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 center 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"
