US rapper Kanye West apologized to the Jewish community Tuesday, after a series of anti-Semitic comments .In an Instagram post posted in Hebrew on Tuesday, the rapper previously known as Kanye West, who has a lengthy history of uttering antisemitic remarks, expressed regret to the Jewish community.
Ye stated, “I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintentional outburst caused by my words or actions.”
“I sincerely apologize for any hurt I may have caused. I did not mean to offend or degrade anyone,” the rapper, who officially changed his name to Ye in 2021, went on.
The declaration comes less than two weeks after Ye, who was promoting his next album “Vultures,” which is released on January 12, went on an antisemitic tirade in Las Vegas. During his tirade, he likened himself to Adolf Hitler and Jesus Christ and made subtle remarks regarding Jewish influence.
In a statement to The Associated Press and other news outlets on Tuesday, the Anti-Defamation League said, “After causing untold damage by using his vast influence and platform to poison countless minds with vicious antisemitism and hate, an apology in Hebrew may be the first step on a long journey towards making amends to the Jewish community and all those whom he has hurt.” “This initial act of contrition is welcome, but in the end, actions will speak louder than words.”
However, Ye’s use of Hebrew in the apology drew criticism from the American Jewish Committee.
The AJC sent a statement to the AP stating, “The Hebrew apology—posted without translation—is inaccessible to most American Jews who do not speak the language, aside from being bizarre and possibly a ploy to gain more attention.”
It is true that Kanye purposefully prevents the majority of American Jews—and, by extension, non-Jews—from seeing Kanye’s apologies firsthand by speaking with the Jewish community in Hebrew.
The AJC went on, “Even though he says he’s dedicated to education and better understanding, this apology speaks to ‘any pain I may have caused,’ rather than acknowledging the pain he has caused.”
He has a history of making hurtful and antisemitic remarks, as well as often praising Hitler and the Nazis. Additionally, he previously referred to the coronavirus vaccination as “the mark of the beast” and said that slavery was a choice.
He received backlash in October 2022 for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt during his Paris Fashion Week presentation. He also tweeted that he was going to “death con three on JEWISH PEOPLE,” perhaps alluding to the DEFCON defense preparedness state scale used in the United States.
Ye lost the lucrative contract with Adidas that helped propel him to billionaire status later that month, and the fashion label Balenciaga severed its connections with him.
The German sportswear manufacturer said, “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
Adidas has sold the last of the Yeezy sneakers for hundreds of millions of euros, giving a portion of the sales proceeds to organizations like the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change and the Anti-Defamation League.
(Recently, however, Bjørn Gulden, CEO of Adidas, said on a podcast that he didn’t believe Ye “meant what he said, and I don’t think he’s a bad person.” The Anti-Defamation League reported that Gulden eventually issued an apology.)
Additionally, the talent agency CAA fired him, and MRC Entertainment decided not to proceed with their project. Although he has subsequently returned to both sites, he was shut out of his Instagram and what was then known as Twitter accounts.
The rapper has already issued an apology for his antisemitic remarks. In an October 2022 podcast, he apologized to “the Jewish community” and said that he was sorry for his first “death con 3” tweet. Additionally, he appeared on “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”
He said on the program, “I will say I’m sorry for the people I hurt with the confusion that I caused.” However, he admitted to conspiracy theorist and presenter Alex Jones that he sees “good things about Hitler” less than two months later.
The American Jewish Committee remarked, “We’ve seen this behavior from Kanye before—the antisemitic rant and the follow-up apology.”
He says he’s determined to “learn from this experience” and aims to “make amends” as he wraps up his most recent apology. When the AP asked for more commentary, a Ye spokesperson did not answer immediately.
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