NEW YORK, February 29, 2025 — Kanye West, now legally known as Ye, has publicly apologized for past antisemitic remarks in a full-page advertisement published in the Wall Street Journal. “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite,” he wrote, adding, “I love Jewish people.”
A History of Controversy and a Search for Explanation
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The musician’s apology comes after a series of deeply offensive statements and actions, prompting questions about his mental health and the impact of a long-undiagnosed brain injury.
- Ye attributes his inflammatory behavior to bipolar type-1 disorder, stemming from a 2002 car accident.
- He expressed regret for selling merchandise featuring swastikas and making antisemitic statements.
- The artist detailed a four-month manic episode in early 2025 that led to destructive behavior and suicidal thoughts.
The apology, framed as a letter “To Those I’ve Hurt,” details Ye’s belief that his actions were fueled by bipolar type-1 disorder, a condition he says developed after a car crash in 2002 resulted in an undetected frontal-lobe injury. He claims medical professionals failed to recognize the injury, leading to a delayed diagnosis and subsequent mental health struggles.
The Path to Diagnosis and the Impact of Mania
Ye explained that the injury went unnoticed initially, with focus placed on the visible physical trauma – a fractured jaw and swelling. It wasn’t until 2023 that a comprehensive diagnosis revealed the extent of the brain injury and its connection to his bipolar type-1 diagnosis, received in 2016.
What are the symptoms of bipolar type-1 disorder? According to Ye, the condition is characterized by “disconnected moments” and impaired judgment, often feeling like an “out-of-body experience.” He described the persuasive nature of mania, where individuals believe they are seeing the world clearly while actually losing touch with reality.
He recounted a particularly destructive four-month manic episode in early 2025, describing it as “psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life” and leading to suicidal ideation. He credits his wife, Bianca Censori, whom he married in 2022, with encouraging him to seek help after reaching a “rock bottom” point.
Past Actions and Apologies
Despite a previous apology to the Jewish community in 2023, Ye’s behavior continued to escalate. In February 2025, he began selling T-shirts emblazoned with swastikas, leading Shopify to remove his online store. In May, he released a song titled “Heil Hitler” which sampled a speech by the Nazi leader and was subsequently banned in Germany due to hate speech laws, but still gained viral traction online. Footage surfaced last week of right-wing influencers, including Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes, performing Nazi salutes to the song in a Miami Beach nightclub. Ye also engaged in Holocaust denial.
He also extended an apology to the Black community, acknowledging past comments suggesting slavery was “a choice,” his decision to wear a “white lives matter” T-shirt, and the appropriation of the Confederate flag. “The Black community is, unquestionably, the foundation of who I am. I am so sorry to have let you down. I love us,” he wrote.
Finding Solace and a Path Forward
Ye shared that he found support in online forums, specifically Reddit, where he connected with others experiencing similar manic and depressive episodes. He noted the serious health risks associated with bipolar disorder, citing statistics from the World Health Organization and Cambridge University indicating a shortened life expectancy comparable to severe heart disease, type 1 diabetes, HIV, and cancer.
He stated that a combination of medication, therapy, exercise, and “clean living” has brought him clarity and inspired him to focus on “positive, meaningful art.” His currently delayed album, known as Bully, was at one point scheduled for release on January 30.
“I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness,” Ye concluded. “I write today simply to ask for your patience and understanding as I find my way home.”
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 10 to 15 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 any more.
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
