The American rapper Ye, formerly ‍known as Kanye West, has taken out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to apologise for antisemitic remarks that attracted ​years of backlash.

“I lost touch with reality,” Ye wrote in the ad on Monday, attributing his behaviour to an undiagnosed brain injury and ⁠untreated bipolar disorder.

“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 added.

Ye also voiced regrets for past expressions of admiration for Adolf Hitler and the use of swastika imagery.

The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks ‌antisemitism, issued a statement describing ​his apology as overdue and noting his prior antisemitic remarks.

“Ye’s apology to the Jewish people is long ‍overdue and doesn’t automatically undo his long history of anti-Semitism – the antisemitic ‘Heil Hitler’ song he created, the hundreds of tweets, the swastikas and myriad Holocaust references – and all of the feelings of hurt and betrayal it caused,” an ADL spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.

“The truest apology would be for him to not engage in antisemitic behaviour in the future. We wish him well on the road to recovery,” ​the statement added.

Ye’s next album, Bully, is due out on Friday, according ‌to the Spotify website.

The rapper referred in the full-page ad to his struggles with his mood disorder over the years.

“Bipolar disorder comes with its own defence ​system. 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 wrote.

Ye wrote that 25 years ago he was in a car accident that caused significant brain damage that he said wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2023. He ​added ​that the medical oversight caused mental health problems that ​led to his bipolar type-1 diagnosis.

Being ​in “a four-month-long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behaviour” in early 2025 destroyed his life, he said.

He “hit rock bottom a few months ago” and had thoughts of not wanting “to be here anymore”.

–Reuters