American rapper Kanye West apologized to the Jewish community on Tuesday, a year after anti-Semitic remarks sparked outrage and ended lucrative commercial deals between major brands such as Adidas and the musician.
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“I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any outrage caused by my words or actions. “It was not my intention to shock or disrespect, and I truly regret any pain I have caused,” his Instagram account reads in Hebrew, as his new album “Vultures” drops on January 12th should.
The musician, who goes by Ye, says he wants to work on the issue and “learn from this experience to have more sensitivity and understanding in the future.”
A statement greeted with caution by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a major American group fighting anti-Semitism.
“Actions speak louder than words, but this first act of repentance is welcome,” said the association, commenting on the poisoning of countless minds with vicious anti-Semitism and hatred.”
In the fall of 2022, Kanye West, who says he suffers from bipolar disorder, made several statements of an anti-Semitic nature.
In an interview a year ago, he said that he “also saw positive things about Hitler”: “We have to stop constantly insulting the Nazis.” (…) I love the Nazis.”
Shortly before, the rapper had shown the slogan “White Lives Matter” during a parade in Paris, thereby misusing the name of the anti-racist movement “Black Lives Matter”. He also attended a dinner at Donald Trump's home in the presence of a white supremacist.
Subsequently, Kanye West's Twitter account was suspended for “incitement to violence” after posting an image depicting a swastika entwined with a Star of David – his account has since been reinstated by the social network that became X.
At the same time, the clothing brand Adidas decided to end its collaboration with the artist, who is one of the most successful in the fashion world, especially with the Yeezy sneaker collection. The American clothing chain Gap and the fashion house Balenciaga had also separated.
He wrote in March that seeing actor Jonah Hill in the film “21 Jump Street” made him “love Jews again.”