Kanye “Ye” West apologized to the Jewish community early Tuesday, posting to Instagram a message written in Hebrew expressing “regret” for “any pain I may have caused.”
He called years of widely reported instances of antisemitism — including an unaired TMZ interview in which he said he “I love Hitler. I love Nazis” — “unintended outbursts.”
“I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any ‘unintended outburst.’ It was not my intention to hurt or demean, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused,” the rapper wrote in the Instagram post, translated to English. “I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future.”
He continued: “Your forgiveness is important to me, and I am committed to making amends and promoting unity.”
Read the post in full below.
While a special report from TheWrap found in November 2022 that Ye had spouted antisemitic lyrics and comments supporting Nazis since 2005, the rapper and entrepreneur’s incendiary rhetoric ramped up in the second half of last year. a series of antisemitic posts on Elon Musk’s X, for instance, led to him getting banned on the social media platform in December. (The account was reinstated at the end of July 2023.)
A February 2023 report from the Anti-Defamation League identified at least 30 antisemitic incidents since October 2022 that directly referenced the rapper, including vandalism, banner drops, targeted harassment and campus propaganda distributions.
“Kanye West’s repeated antisemitic remarks – and his dredging up some of the worst anti-Jewish tropes imaginable – doubtlessly are having an impact and inspiring people to commit real-world acts of hate,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told TheWrap at the time.
“As we have long maintained, celebrities and others who engage in spreading hateful tropes need to know their words have consequences,” Greenblatt continued. “Unfortunately, Kanye’s decision to continue to peddle hatred against Jews is only giving encouragement to people who are already infected with hate.”
The only two posts remaining on Ye’s X page at the time of publishing are press releases relating to his design brand Yeezy.
The post Kanye ‘Ye’ West Apologizes to Jewish Community for ‘Unintended’ Antisemitic Outbursts appeared first on TheWrap.
