- Kanye West is apologizing
- He is taking back some antisemitic comments
- THIS is what West had to say
This story has many twists and turns to it. Embattled rapper Kanye West, whose brilliant hip hop career essentially imploded over his repeated antisemitic remarks, now claims he’s very sorry for all the hate. It's not the first time that Kanye has walked back certain remarks he has made in the past.
Kanye has learned some new things
West took to social media to make amends for past comments. His post was written in Hebrew and comes at a time where the war in Gaza rages on, and the Jewish peoples' image has been tarnished in the eyes of many.
"I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions, it was not my intention to hurt or disrespect, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused," he said Tuesday on his recently re-activated Instagram page.
"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."
But where does this change of heart come from?
Kanye's apology comes after years of antisemitic outbursts, most recently a December tirade in which he blasted "rich f***" strangers for putting their kids in "Zionest [sic] schools."
Kanye went on to say: "It’s 60 million of us in America, 60 million Jews in the world," he said in the viral video, before yelling, "This is what I’ve been trying to tell you. Jesus Christ, Hitler, Ye, third party, sponsor that."
His upcoming album is set to be released next month, and it also took heat in recent days for rapping at an album event, "I still keep some Jews with me / Management? Nah / I only let ’em do my jewelry." And in yet another antisemitic episode, West rapped on stage in Miami earlier this month, "How I’m antisemitic? I just fucked a Jewish bitch."
And so, this could all be a marketing ploy to make sure that the album sales. The artist’s career has taken a major hit as a result of his rampant antisemitism, with numerous companies killing their collaborations with him. Talent agency CAA also cut ties with West last year.
Just days before the antisemitic rant earlier this month, Ye was also spotted donning what appeared to be a black Ku Klux Klan hood at a Miami listening party for the new album.
Jewish activist Doug Emhoff urged notable figures to step up and combat antisemitism Friday, perpetuated by rhetoric from Ye and others.
Also interesting:
For "every horrible thing that [Ye] says, we need others to step up and … talk about not only that antisemitism is bad, but who Jews are, and the awesomeness of it," he said in a 'Deadline' interview.
"Right now, there’s a lot of discourse that’s not positive among groups. We need to bring all of these groups back together and fight this epidemic of hate together, because it is not just antisemitism, it’s Islamophobia, anti-LGBTQ hate — all these that we have been fighting, because it’s all connected," he continued.
Let's wait and see how the new album does when it comes to jumping off the shelves!