The artist formerly known as Kanye West took out a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal, where he issued an extensive apology for his antisemitic remarks and opened up about living with bipolar disorder and the toll it has taken on his life.
“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 ad, titled “To Those I Hurt,” states. “At the time, the focus was on the visible damage—the fracture, the swelling, and the immediate physical trauma. The deeper injury, the one inside my skull, went unnoticed.”
Ye explained that thorough neurological scans were not conducted at the time of the accident, and the damage wasn’t “properly diagnosed” until 2023. According to him, that lapse contributed to years of mental health struggles. “Bipolar disorder comes with its own defense system,” he wrote. “Denial. When you’re manic, you don’t think you’re sick. You think everyone else is overreacting. You feel like you’re seeing the world more clearly than ever, when in reality you’re losing your grip entirely.”
He added that bipolar type-1 disorder often left him believing he didn’t need help.
“It makes you blind, but convinced you have insight,” he continued. “You feel powerful, certain, and unstoppable. 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.”
At his lowest point, Ye said he “gravitated toward the most destructive symbol” he could think of: the swastika. “One of the difficult aspects of having bipolar type-1 are the disconnected moments—many of which I still cannot recall—that lead to poor judgment and reckless behavior that oftentimes feels like an out-of-body experience,” he wrote. “I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
He also offered an apology to the Black community for his actions in recent years. “The Black community is, unquestionably, the foundation of who I am,” he wrote. “I am so sorry to have let you down. I love us. In early 2025, I fell into a four-month long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life. As the situation became increasingly unsustainable, there were times I didn’t want to be here anymore.”
Ye shared that he “found comfort” in different sub-Reddit communities where people discussed their own experiences with “manic or depressive episodes” similar to his.
“As I find my new baseline and new center through an effective regime of medication, therapy, exercise and clean living, I have newfound, much-needed clarity,” he concluded. “I am pouring my energy into positive, meaningful art: music, clothing design, and other new ideas to help the world. I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness. I write today simply to ask for your patience and understanding as I find my way home.”
The full ad, titled “To Those I Hurt,” can be read below.
Ye was first diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016, though he didn’t publicly address it until the release of his 2018 album, Ye. He later claimed the diagnosis was incorrect and, in 2022, suggested he might be autistic — something he said was professionally diagnosed in 2025.
Toward the end of 2022, Ye drew heavy criticism after appearing in an interview with controversial conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, where he openly praised Adolf Hitler. Rather than walking back his statements or apologizing, he leaned further into the controversy, eventually selling t-shirts featuring a swastika and recording a song titled “Heil Hitler.”
In November of last year, Ye met with Rabbi Yoshiayao Yosef Pinto, where he issued an apology for his offensive comments about the Jewish community.
