‘I’m not a Nazi’ – Kanye West blames brain injury for anti-Semitism

Kanye West has denied that he is a Nazi and taken out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to apologise for anti-Semitic comments.

In a full-page ad titled ‘To the people I’ve hurt’, controversial star He stressed that he was not asking for “sympathy or a free pass”. Instead, the artist now known as Ye said he wanted to apologise to the public.

The rapper also apologised to the Black community and said he had let it down.

West deleted his ex After facing backlash over a series of offensive comments, including “I love Hitler” and “I’m a Nazi”, in February last year.

West also had a Yeezy online shopping platform took down After this the sale of T-shirts decorated with swastikas started.

In May last year, the 48-year-old released a single titled ‘Heil Hitler’, which resulted in Australia, where the star’s wife Bianca Sensori is from, cancelling his visa.

Adidas ended its partnership with the rapper in 2022 over anti-Semitic comments he made, leaving the company with a massive shortage of West’s popular brand Yeezy trainers. not sold until last year.

West also apologised for his comments in 2023.

West now insists.

However, in the newspaper advertisement, West now insists, “I’m not a Nazi or anti-Semite. I love the Jewish people.”

He attributed his behaviour to his bipolar-1 disorder, which he said was the result of a car accident 25 years earlier.

He says his brain injury from the accident was not properly diagnosed until 2023, following what he calls “medical oversight”. He claims that the medical oversight caused serious damage to his mental health and led to his bipolar type-1 diagnosis, which he received in 2016.

“In early 2025, I fell into a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour that destroyed my life,” West said.

“I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things that I deeply regret.”

He added, “There were times when I didn’t want to stay here anymore.”

The rapper said that he treated “some of the people I love most” the worst, adding that he was “separated from my true self.”.

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West revealed that he reached his lowest point several months ago, and his wife urged him to seek assistance.

He is now “focusing his energies on positive, meaningful art: music, clothing, design and other new ideas to help the world.”.

“One of the difficult aspects of being bipolar type-1 is the disconnected moments – many of which I still don’t remember – that lead to poor judgement and reckless behaviour that (often) feels like an out-of-body experience.

“I regret my actions in that situation and am deeply hurt and am committed to accountability, healing, and meaningful change.”

The letter ends with West saying, “I am writing today only to ask for your patience and understanding as I find my way home. With love, yes.”

A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said, “It’s hard to keep up with Kanye West’s apology and repetition. A heartfelt apology is nice but at the end of the day, it’s meaningless if it’s followed by more of the same, which has happened before.

It remains to be seen if Kanye West is truly making a change or merely circling back.

“We hope for his sake – and for the sake of Jewish people around the world who have enough anti-Semitism to worry about right now – that he will show some real change. It could start by telling his online followers, who outnumber Jews in the world, why anti-Semitism is so corrosive.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK for help. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.