Ye Attributes Antisemitic Behavior to Brain Injury and Bipolar Disorder in Apology Issued Ahead of New Album Release

Just days before his new album is set to be released, Ye — the artist formerly known as Kanye West — is on a new mea culpa tour, issuing a full-page ad to apologize for his history of antisemitic comments. In the advertisement published Monday in The Wall Street Journal titled “To Those I’ve Hurt,” the rapper attributed his past “reckless” behavior to an undiagnosed brain injury and mental health struggles.Ye wrote that a car accident 25 years ago injured the right frontal lobe of his brain, saying, “It wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2023.” According to the artist, this “medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type-1 diagnosis.”The right frontal lobe regulates impulse control, emotional volatility, behavioral inhibition, and recognition of social cues. A 2014 study suggests people who suffer traumatic brain injuries are 28 times more likely to receive a bipolar disorder diagnosis later in life, with symptoms of mental illness developing within one-15 years after an injury.Bipolar I disorder, which involves multiple regions of the brain, can cause severe manic episodes lasting at least seven days or requiring hospitalization, often with depression. Addressing his previous public rejection of the diagnosis, Ye explained that “bipolar disorder comes with its own defense system. Denial.” In the ad, the rapper described the condition as “persuasive,” noting that during episodes, “You feel powerful, certain, unstoppable,” and that “the idea that you might need help is almost impossible to accept.”Ye, whose new album “Bully” drops on Friday, admitted that during these periods, he “lost touch with reality” and “became detached from my true self.” He specifically addressed his use of hate speech and imagery, writing, “In that fractured state, I gravitated towards the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it.”Despite his past statements, including a series of posts in February 2025 where he declared he was a Nazi and praised Adolf Hitler, Ye insisted in the full-page ad: “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.” He said that he is full of “regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change.”The apology also extended to the black community. “The black community is, unquestionably, the foundation of who I am,” Ye wrote. “I am so sorry to have let you down. I love us.”Ye revealed that he fell into a “four-month long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior” in early 2025 before hitting “rock bottom a few months ago.” He credited his wife, Bianca Censori, for encouraging him to seek help. He said he has since found a “new baseline and new center through an effective regime of medication, therapy, exercise and clean living.”The Anti-Defamation League, which documented at least 30 antisemitic incidents directly referencing Ye in early 2023, responded to the statement on Monday. “Ye’s apology to the Jewish people is long overdue and doesn’t automatically undo his long history of antisemitism,” the ADL told Billboard, referencing the “Heil Hitler” song and “myriad Holocaust references.” In closing his letter, Ye acknowledged the damage done to his career and relationships, including the loss of partnerships with major corporations like Adidas. “I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness,” he wrote. “I write today to simply ask for your patience and understanding as I find my way home.”

Ye Attributes Antisemitic Behavior to Brain Injury and Bipolar Disorder in Apology Issued Ahead of New Album Release

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