Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, apologizes for antisemitic remarks and cites brain injury

Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, apologized for antisemitic remarks he made in the past and said a brain injury he suffered in a car accident 25 years ago led to his bipolar disorder diagnosis.

In a full-page ad in the print edition of Monday’s Wall Street Journal, Ye said the right frontal lobe of his brain was injured in the accident and he wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2023.

He also said that in early 2025 he experienced a four-month-long manic episode that “destroyed my life.”

“As the situation became increasingly unsustainable, there were times I didn’t want to be here anymore,” he says in the ad.

He goes on to say that having bipolar disorder made him feel like he didn’t need help.

“I lost touch with reality,” Ye says in the ad. “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.”

He says he gravitated toward “the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika.” 

Last year, he sold T-shirts on his website that bore the Nazi Party symbol. In 2022, he posted the symbol to Twitter, which led to his suspension, and, in a separate incident, said he was going to go “death con 3” on Jewish people.

That same year, he also made headlines for having dinner with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and President Trump (who was out of office at the time) at Mar-a-Lago. Mr. Trump said after the dinner that Fuentes had arrived with Ye and that Mr. Trump didn’t know who Fuentes was.

In Monday’s ad, Ye says he experienced “disconnected moments” that resulted in poor judgment and reckless behavior that he regretted.

“It does not excuse what I did, though,” the ad says. “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”

He has apologized for his behavior before. In an Instagram post in 2023, he issued  an apology to the Jewish community that was written in Hebrew.

In the ad, he also  also apologized to the Black community, which he says “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,” Ye says. “I am so sorry to have let you down. I love us.”

If you or someone you know is seeking mental health resources, you can call the National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine at 800-950-6264 or in a crisis text NAMI to 62640.