American musician and producer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, recently published a full-page apology in the Wall Street Journal, addressing his past anti-Semitic comments and other controversial actions.
While the apology itself has been widely reported, Ye’s letter offers insight into why he believes his behaviour happened.
Central to his explanation is a brain injury he sustained in a 2002 car accident.
“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,” he wrote.
Ye, fka Kanye West, takes out a full-page in the Wall Street Journal to apologize to the Black community, and for antisemitism:
“I lost touch with reality” pic.twitter.com/Po8s4gNz5P
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 26, 2026
While the visible injuries were treated at the time, Ye says the deeper damage inside his skull went unnoticed for decades, potentially affecting his judgment and self-control.
Ye also pointed to his bipolar disorder, which was untreated for many years.
He described a particularly difficult period in early 2025, when poor mental health left him feeling out of touch with reality, overly suspicious of others, and prone to acting without thinking.
“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 said.
These factors, he says, contributed to several controversial actions.
In 2025, he released a song called Heil Hitler, along with another track titled WW3, which many criticised for promoting fascism and anti-Semitism.
Streaming platforms like Spotify and SoundCloud tried to remove the song, but it spread quickly online, especially on X (formerly Twitter). The American Jewish Committee called it “a celebration of fascism and antisemitism” and urged the music industry not to normalise his behaviour.
Ye also faced criticism in 2022 for wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt, meeting former U.S. President Donald Trump, and socialising with white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
Many people saw these actions as attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement and as deeply offensive.
Now, Ye says he has found “a new baseline” through medication, therapy, exercise, and clean living.
He expressed regret for his actions towards Jewish people, the Black community, and his own family.
“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 anti-Semite. I love Jewish people,” he wrote.
