Rapper Kanye West, who also goes by the name Ye, reversed course on his spate of antisemitic comments late in December and apologized to the Jewish community for his behavior. Now he is following that apology up with a 40-minute video in a more detailed attempt to make amends.
The “Ghost Town” rapper drew heavy criticism most recently by wearing what was deemed by many a KKK hood at his recent album release party and for making antisemitic comments during the event.
But after the event, the “Ye” rapper took a sharply different tone with posts to social media written in Yiddish and apologizing for his several year’s worth of antisemitic comments.
The apology read:
I sincerely apologize for any ‘unintended outburst’ caused by my words or actions…It was not my intention to hurt or demean, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused…
I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding more in the future. Your forgiveness is important to me, and I am committed to making amends and promoting unity
It appears, though, that West does not feel that his social media post was enough because now he has filmed a long video further making amends.
According to TMZ, the video features long stretches where the rapper is rambling and seems to be making little sense.
The site says the video will be forthcoming, but has not yet been released.
The second round of apologies are being made just ahead of the release of West’s new album, Vultures, which has been beset with problems. The release date has been pushed back several times since it was teased months ago.
Vultures was last set to be released on Dec. 15, but it was then moved to New Year’s Eve. But that date came and went with no release, as well. Now the rapper says the album will come out on Feb. 9, Forbes magazine reported.
The album has faced several issues, one of which was a delay in getting permissions from various artists for the samples on the new album. Another hitch was when rapper Nicki Manaj refused to give her permission for West to include a song on the album that she recorded in 2018. Manaj said she no longer had any interest in releasing the tune because she had “moved on.”
But West has engaged in a long list of antisemitic comments over the last few years, comments that have cost him both fans and business partners.
In 2022, for instance, West went on with Alex Jones and praised Hitler, saying, “I see good things about Hitler. Every human being has something of value they brought to the table, especially Hitler.”
In another case, Ye claimed Adolf Hitler’s bad reputation was “made by Jewish people” who “control the majority of the media,” and urged Jewish people to “forgive” Hitler.
After that, Ye called for “death con 3 on the Jewish people.”
The rapper was suspended by both Instagram and Twitter for the comments. And he lost lucrative business contracts and associations with sportswear giant Adidas, fashion company Balenciaga, and others, and was dropped as a client by JP Morgan Chase and talent agency Creative Artists Agency.
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