In October 2022, rap superstar Kanye West nearly destroyed his career and reputation with a series of anti-semitic rants on social media. He played up offensive stereotypes about Jewish people and said he planned to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”
In the aftermath of those comments, Adidas cut ties with the “All Falls Down” rapper, his Donda Academy suffered backlash, and he was suspended from both Instagram and Twitter. He followed that up by appearing on far-right firebrand Alex Jones’ show to profess his admiration for Hitler. Now, a year later, and a day after Christmas, the Chicago native is apologizing for his words.
On Tuesday, West took to Instagram to post an apology to “the Jewish community.” In a generic statement written in Hebrew, he didn’t mention any of his specific comments or videos, just that he regretted “any pain” his actions caused.
“I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions,” he wrote. “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.”
It’s not our place to say whether Kanye is sincere in his apology, but when he uses lyrics like, “How can I be anti-semitic? / I just fucked a Jewish bitch,” on your new album, the music speaks for itself. By the way, “Vultures” was just released, so we have to wonder when did this sudden epiphany hit him? He’s been saying hateful things for a year. Was it a Christmas miracle?
Moreover, considering how often the “Late Registration” rapper changes his tune about literally everything, some are finding it difficult to take him seriously.
“In an hour you will be right back at it. You’re doing this for an algorithm hike. I used to have empathy for you. I have ZERO anything for you. You are meaningless in every sense of the word,” wrote one commentator under his post.
Kanye may say that now he wants to start “promoting unity,” but appearing on stage in a Black KKK mask doesn’t give off “making amends” vibes. Mr. West has a long way to go before anyone believes anything he has to say about “sensitivity and understanding.”