Ye, the rapper and entrepreneur formerly known as Kanye West, has again apologised for antisemitic remarks, this time taking out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal.
"I lost touch with reality," Ye wrote in the ad, attributing his behaviour to an undiagnosed brain injury and an untreated bipolar disorder.
"I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment and meaningful change."
Ye has made numerous antisemitic public statements over the past few years, including a social media post that appeared to accuse notorious musician Sean "Diddy" Combs of being controlled by "the Jewish people" and another that appeared to show a swastika symbol inside a Star of David.
In October 2022, Ye wore a White Lives Matter shirt — a phrase adopted by neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups in response to the Black Lives Matter movement — to a Paris Fashion Week event.
After backlash, he posted to Twitter that he would go "death con 3 on Jewish people".
His tweet was taken down and his Twitter and Instagram accounts were restricted for violating community guidelines.
He was reinstated eight months later after Elon Musk took over the social media platform and rebranded it as X.
Regrets using swastika imagery
Ye wrote that his diagnosis does not excuse his behaviour.
"I am not a Nazi or an antisemite," he said.
"I love Jewish people."
Ye also voiced regrets for past expressions of admiration for Adolf Hitler and the use of swastika imagery.
Last year, federal Immigration Minister Tony Burke revealed that Ye had been denied a visa to Australia after releasing an antisemitic song.
Ye's next album, Bully, is due out on Friday, according to the Spotify website.
A previous album, VULTURES 1, a collaboration with fellow American rapper Ty Dolla $ign, saw two major artists, Ozzy Osborne and Donna Summer, publicly accuse West of copyright infringement.
The American Anti-Defamation League, which tracks antisemitism, issued a statement describing his apology as overdue and noting his prior antisemitic remarks.
"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," an ADL spokesperson said in a statement.
"The truest apology would be for him to not engage in antisemitic behaviour in the future.
"We wish him well on the road to recovery."
'In reality you're losing your grip'
This is not the first time Ye has apologised for antisemitism, after he issued an apology in Hebrew in December 2023 for "any unplanned outburst" and that he regretted any pain he may have caused.
In October 2022, sportswear brand Adidas cut ties with Ye, who had launched a high-end sneaker brand with the company, called Yeezy.
Balenciaga and Gap also ended their fashion partnerships with Ye, while retailers Foot Locker and TJ Maxx stopped selling the Yeezy brand.
In the full-page ad, Ye referred to his struggles with his mood disorder over the years.
"Bipolar disorder comes with its own defence system. Denial," he wrote.
"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."
Hitting rock bottom
Ye wrote that 25 years ago he was in a car accident that caused significant brain damage that wasn't properly diagnosed until 2023.
He added that the medical oversight caused mental health problems that led to his bipolar type-1 diagnosis.
The songwriter said that being in "a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour" in early 2025 destroyed his life.
Ye added that he "hit rock bottom a few months ago" and had thoughts of not wanting "to be here anymore".
The Gold Digger rapper also addressed the black community with both appreciation and more apologies, saying it was "unquestionably, the foundation of who I am".
"I am so sorry to have let you down. I love us."
Previously, Ye said he was on the autism spectrum rather than having a bipolar disorder.
However, looking through Reddit posts of other "manic" people helped him feel "not alone" and understand that he has a chronic mood disorder, he said.
Reuters/ABC
