Kanye West has apologized for his antisemitic rants as he detailed how his bipolar disorder caused him to lose ‘touch with reality’ in a page-long advertisement published in the Wall Street Journal.
West’s hateful messages about the Jewish people have sparked outrage and condemnation, however in the past year, he has been issuing apologies over the vile statements.
His latest statement attributes his behavior to the effects of his health battle, one which he says was caused by a 2002 car accident.
In a statement appearing in the January 26 print edition of the WSJ, West alleged he sustained a brain injury during the accident that went ‘unnoticed’ at the time – with the ‘medical oversight’ sparking his bipolar disorder.
‘Twenty-five years ago, I was in a car accident that broke my jaw and caused injury to the right frontal lobe of my brain,’ the advertisement begins.
‘At the time, the focus was on the visible damage – the fracture, the swelling, the immediate physical trauma. The deeper injury, the one inside my skull, went unnoticed.
‘Comprehensive scans were not done, neurological exams were limited, and the possibility of a frontal-lobe injury was never raised. It wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2023. That medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type-1 diagnosis.’
West, 48, said the illness made him ‘detached from my true self’ and caused him to be drawn ‘toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika’.
‘The scariest thing about this disorder is how persuasive it is when it tells you: You don’t need help. It makes you blind, but convinced you have insight. You feel powerful, certain, and unstoppable,’ Ye said.
‘I lost touch with reality. Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I said and did things I deeply regret. Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst. You endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to love someone who was, at times, unrecognizable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self.’
The advertisement, which was paid for by Yeezy and authored by West, was headlined ‘To Those I Hurt’ and described how, after ‘hitting rock bottom’ several months ago, he decided to seek help at the encouragement of his wife, Bianca Censori.
