Ahead of the long-delayed release of his upcoming collaborative album with Ty Dolla $ign, Vultures, Kanye West is apologizing to the Jewish community for a dizzying number of anti-semitic rants that have drastically marred his career over the past year.
“I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any ‘unintended outburst’ caused by my words or actions,” the rapper, now known as Ye, wrote in Hebrew in an Instagram post early Tuesday morning (translation via Rolling Stone). “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 in the future. Your forgiveness is important to me, and I am committed to making amends and promoting unity.”
West first went public with his antisemitism in a widely condemned post on Twitter/X last fall, in which he claimed he was planning to go “death con 3 [sic] on JEWISH PEOPLE.” “You guys have toyed with and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda,” he added at the time. But while the post inspired public outrage and lost Ye sponsorship after sponsorship, a bombshell report from the New York Times claimed West’s behind-the-scenes praise of Hitler dated back at least to the beginning of his partnership with Adidas, where he allegedly tried to emulate the Nazi leader’s manipulation of propaganda to boost his own product.
Since that first post, West has only doubled down. In a subsequent interview with Alex Jones, the rapper made Sandy Hook conspiracy peddler Alex Jones look like a critical thinker by bluntly stating that “every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.”
Even as recently as the rollout for Vultures, (allegedly) out January 12, West has advanced this ideology. A few weeks ago, the rapper went on a long rant at a live-streamed event for Vultures in which he yelled “Jesus Christ, Hitler, Ye—third party, sponsor that,” and claimed that “Zionists” control hospitals and private schools (via Rolling Stone). Additionally, the album’s lead single (also called “Vultures”) features the deeply poetic line, “How I’m antisemitic? I just fucked a Jewish bitch.”
Thus far, the rapper has not publicly commented on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. It’s unclear what inspired him to attempt to make amends now.