Kanye “Ye” West is offering a mea culpa. One year after issuing a series of anti-Semitic remarks, the 46-year-old rapper who goes by “Ye” has published an apology written in Hebrew on his Instagram page.
“I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions,” the statement reads, via Google Translate. “It was not my intention to offend or disrespect.”
The comment went on, “I deeply regret any pain I may have caused. I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future. Your forgiveness is important to me, and I am committed to making amends and promoting unity.”
The apology comes as Ye is preparing to release his upcoming album, Vultures, with Ty Dolla $ign. After a series of delays, the LP is expected to drop on Jan. 12.
The rapper drew widespread criticism and condemnation beginning in October 2022 for making several anti-Semitic remarks, including his alleged plan to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”
Ye’s comments lead to his Instagram account being restricted and the post in question being deleted. Similarly, the rapper and fashion mogul’s tweets were removed from Twitter (now X) due to a violation of the platform’s policies.
The anti-Semitic posts came on the heels of West’s controversial “White Lives Matter” shirts, which he debuted at Paris Fashion Week earlier that month.
Companies including Adidas, GAP, Balenciaga and fashion magazine Vogue cut ties with him and CAA dropped Ye as a client.
Additionally, Ye’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, spoke out condemning anti-Semitism in light of his rants.
“Hate speech is never OK or excusable. I stand together with the Jewish community and call on the terrible violence and hateful rhetoric towards them to come to an immediate end,” Kardashian wrote on Twitter (now X) at the time.
On the Vultures title track, which also features Lil Durk and Bump J, Ye appears to reference the fallout from his remarks with the lyric, “How I’m anti-semitic? I just f**ked a Jewish b**ch.”
Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company
Ye and Kardashian’s eldest daughter, 10-year-old North West, lends her voice to another track on the album. During an album listening party earlier this month, fans got a first listen to North’s verse.
“I love it here / we gonna take over the year for another year / it’s your bestie, Miss Miss Westie / don’t try to test me / it’s gonna get messy/ it’s gonna get messy / just bless me,” she raps on one track.
Back in August, Ye made his first return to the stage since the fallout from his anti-Semitic remarks when he joined Travis Scott for a performance in Rome, Italy.
“Only one human being on this motherf**king planet that has ever walked side by side with me through anything and every motherf**king thing,” Scott told the audience at his Circus Maximus tour stop before bringing Ye on stage.
The duo pivoted from Travis’s new album, Utopia’s, track list to perform “Praise God,” a song that featured Scott from West’s 2021 album, Donda, and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” from West’s 2007 album, Graduation.
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