Kanye West apologized publicly in a paid Wall Street Journal advertisement for past remarks that harmed Black and Jewish communities as he sought accountability and a path toward reconciliation.
The statement published in the Wall Street Journal marked West’s most direct effort to confront the fallout from years of inflammatory behavior. Writing in a reflective tone the 48 year old artist said he had lost touch with reality and acknowledged the fear and confusion his words created. “I said and did things I deeply regret” West wrote adding that the consequences extended far beyond himself.
West addressed mental health head on confirming his bipolar disorder diagnosis and describing periods of poor judgment as an “out-of-body experience.” He stressed that the illness does not excuse his actions and framed the admission as context rather than defense. In one of the clearest lines of the message he stated “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.” He also spoke directly to Black audiences crediting their enduring support during his lowest moments. “The black community is unquestionably the foundation of who I am” he wrote.
The advertisement emphasized accountability over sympathy. West said he was not asking for understanding as a substitute for responsibility and instead aimed to earn forgiveness through sustained change. “As I find my way home I ask for your patience and understanding” he added while underscoring that progress would require time and proof.
West also revealed new medical details saying he was not properly diagnosed until 2023 after living for years with the effects of a brain injury from a car accident more than two decades ago. He described the oversight as damaging to his mental health and decision making while stopping short of attributing specific incidents to that history.
The apology follows a series of controversies that reshaped public perception of the artist. In 2022 he drew backlash for wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt at a Paris fashion event and for threatening tweets aimed at Jewish people. Subsequent incidents included appearing in a Ku Klux Klan style hood during a listening event for his album “Vultures” and promoting s####### themed shirts during a Super Bowl advertisement in 2025.
The message closes without spectacle positioning the apology as a starting point rather than a conclusion. For West the ad represents an attempt to confront harm rebuild trust and redefine the terms of his public life after years of self inflicted isolation.
Below is the whole message:
To Those I’ve Hurt:
25 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 deeper injury, the one inside my skull, went unnoticed.
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. 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 s#######, 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.
I have found comfort in Reddit forums of all places. 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
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