Kanye West has apologizes for antisemitic comments: "I lost touch with reality"

Rapper Kanye West has apologized for making antisemitic comments in recent years, attributing his remarks to fallout from mental illness stemming from a car accident that happened decades ago.

West took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal on Monday addressed 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," West wrote.

“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,” he added. “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.”

West, 48, claims that he "lost touch with reality." “Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem," he wrote. "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 myself.”

West directly addressed his antisemitic actions and statements against Jewish people that have made headlines in recent years.

“In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it," West admitted. "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,” he stressed.

West delivered a message to the black community, which he described as “the foundation of who I am."

“I am so sorry to have let you down," he wrote. "I love us.”

West credited his wife for encouraging him to “get help” after he hit “rock bottom,” detailing how he “found comfort in Reddit of all places” because he discovered that he was “not alone.” “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,” he concluded.

The antisemitism watchdog organization the ADL said West's "apology to the Jewish people" is "long overdue."