Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, apologized Tuesday to the Jewish community after his long string of antisemitic remarks and song lyrics.
“I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for my unplanned outburst caused by my words or actions, it was not my intention to hurt or disrespect, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused,” Ye said in an Instagram post written in Hebrew, according to a translation by the Jerusalem Post. “I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future.
“Your forgiveness is important to me and I am committed to making amends and promoting unity,” he continued.
Last week, Ye drew controversy for his antisemitic tirade at a Las Vegas listening party, during which he said, “It’s 60 million of us in America, 60 million Jews in the world,” and claimed Jewish people own all the hospitals and private schools in the United States. (The global population of Jews is actually around 15.7 million, according to the Times of Israel.)
“Jesus Christ, Hitler, Ye, third party — sponsor that,” he said to a small room crowded with supporters, according to TMZ, which obtained a recording of the remarks. “Bring your sponsorships to that.”
Lyrics in Ye’s latest performances of songs from his upcoming joint album with Ty Dolla Sign, “Vultures,” have also drawn criticism for being antisemitic. During a November performance in Dubai, rapping his latest single of the same name, which dropped in November, Ye rapped the lines, “How am I antisemitic? I just f— a Jewish b—.” Chris Brown was spotted at the venue dancing and laughing at the lyric.
During a separate listening event in Las Vegas with Ty Dolla Sign, the same week as his outburst, Ye rapped, “I still keep some Jews with me/ Management? Nah/ I only let ’em do my jewelry.” At a Miami performance, Ye donned a pointy black hood, which was reminiscent of the pointy white hoods worn by the Ku Klux Klan.
Reports have swirled of continued delays to Ye’s “Vultures” album, which was originally planned for a Dec. 15 release. It has since been delayed twice, first to Dec. 31 and now to Jan. 12, according to Billboard, which cited Ye’s representatives.
Ye’s apology follows a long string of antisemitic comments that began in October 2022 when he suggested on Instagram that rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs’ career was controlled by Jews. He followed up the post with an infamous tweet in which he threatened to “go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” While a guest on Tucker Carlson’s former Fox News show, Ye continued to peddle his antisemitic beliefs, according to unaired footage of the interview. Around this time, he also attacked the Black Lives Matter movement and disparaged widely-held concerns of the Black community, including the murder of George Floyd, which he blamed on fentanyl.
That same month, Ye apologized for his remarks. Even so, the rapper and fashion designer was temporarily suspended from social media platforms. Hollywood talent agency CAA cut ties with him, and he lost fashion deals with Adidas, Gap and Balenciaga. Ye aimed expletives at the fashion brands during his recent Las Vegas tirade.
Ye doubled down in December 2022, appearing on alt-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ talk show “InfoWars” and saying he sees “good things” about Adolf Hitler, brazenly adding, “I like Hitler.” West also argued that Nazis “did good things too.”
Shortly after his October 2022 comments, a well-known hate group held a demonstration of support for Ye on a 405 Freeway overpass in Los Angeles. Demonstrators gave Nazi salutes as they stood behind a large overpass banner that read, “Kanye is right about the Jews,” according to images collected by anti-discrimination organizations and residents.
___
© 2023 Los Angeles Times
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
