Key Points
- Kanye West, the rapper officially named Ye, has apologised to the Jewish community.
- He faced backlash for prior offensive remarks, leading to severed partnerships and public condemnation.
- Anti-Defamation League emphasised the need for tangible actions to accompany the apology.
The rapper Ye, formerly known as , who has a long history of , has issued an apology to the Jewish community in an Instagram post written in Hebrew.
"I sincerely apologise to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions," Ye wrote on Tuesday.
"It was not my intention to offend or demean, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused," continued the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye in 2021.
The statement arrives less than two weeks after Ye went on an anti-Semitic rant in Las Vegas while promoting his upcoming album Vultures, due out on 12 January.
In the rant, he made insidious insinuations about Jewish influence and compared himself to Jesus Christ and Adolf Hitler.
"After causing untold damage by using his vast influence and platform to poison countless minds with vicious antisemitism and hate, an apology in Hebrew may be the first step on a long journey towards making amends to the Jewish community and all those who he has hurt," the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement to The Associated Press and other news outlets on Tuesday.
"Ultimately, actions will speak louder than words but this initial act of contrition is welcome."
Ye has a history of offensive and antisemitic comments, including repeated praise of Hitler and the Nazis. He also once suggested slavery was a choice and called the coronavirus vaccine "the mark of the beast.".
In October 2022, he was criticised for wearing a White Lives Matter T-shirt at his Paris Fashion Week show and tweeted that he was going to go "death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE," an apparent reference to the US defence readiness condition scale, DEFCON.
Rapper Kanye West - also now known as Ye - sparked outrage last year with his antisemitic social media posts, Source: AAP / zz/GWR/STAR MAX/IPx
"Ye's recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company's values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness," the German sportswear company said at the time.
Adidas has sold hundreds of millions of euros in remaining Yeezy shoes, donating part of the profits to groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change.
Recently, though, Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden said on a podcast episode that he didn't think Ye "meant what he said and I don't think he's a bad person." Gulden later apologised, the Anti-Defamation League said.
Ye was also dropped by the talent agency CAA, and his documentary with MRC Entertainment was scrapped. He was locked out of his accounts on Instagram and what was then known as Twitter, though he has since returned to both platforms.
He also went on "Piers Morgan Uncensored."
"I will say I'm sorry for the people that I hurt with the confusion that I caused," he said on the show. But less than two months later, he told conspiracy theorist and host Alex Jones that he sees "good things about Hitler".
Ye's latest apology ends with him saying he is committed to "learning from this experience" and plans on "making amends".
