After years of chaos, controversy, and deeply damaging antisemitic rants, Kanye West is finally saying sorry. In a full-page open letter titled “To Those I’ve Hurt,” published as a paid advertisement by Yeezy in the Jan. 26 edition of The Wall Street Journal. The 48-year-old rapper and fashion mogul offered an apology that reads less like damage control and more like a confession. In it, West ties his most explosive behaviour to an untreated bipolar disorder and what he describes as a long, life-destroying manic episode.
The Diagnosis Behind the Descent
West begins by revisiting the 2002 car accident that nearly killed him, saying it caused damage to his right frontal lobe that went undetected for years. According to him, that oversight played a major role in the mental health spiral that eventually led to a bipolar type-1 diagnosis in 2023. He goes on to describe mania not as heightened clarity, but as a dangerous illusion. “When you’re in it”, he says, “you think everyone else is overreacting. You feel powerful. Certain. Like you’re finally seeing the truth. In reality, you’re losing your grip”.
When Mania Went Public
That loss of grip played out publicly and destructively. Over the past few years, West repeatedly targeted the Jewish community with antisemitic remarks, leading Adidas to sever ties with Yeezy in 2022. In 2025, a former Yeezy employee sued him, alleging he compared himself to Hitler and threatened her because she was Jewish. He went on to later fire her after she reported the behaviour. Though the case has been paused, West has been ordered by a judge to pay more than $76,000 in her legal fees. That same year, West defended Sean “Diddy” Combs following his conviction on prostitution-related charges and unleashed another antisemitic, slur-filled rant on X praising Adolf Hitler. Shortly after, his talent agency dropped him.
“I Lost Touch With Reality”
In the letter, West reflects on being labeled “crazy” and mocked, saying it left him feeling like he no longer had anything meaningful to contribute. He points to research that explains, people with bipolar disorder often have shorter life expectancies. This in itself emphasises that the condition isn’t a punchline, it’s serious, and it’s deadly when ignored. Ignoring it, he admits, is exactly what he did. Mania convinced him he didn’t need help, that he was unstoppable. That mindset, he says, pushed him further away from reality and toward increasingly extreme behaviour.
“I lost touch with reality,” West wrote.
Reckoning With the Damage
He doesn’t shy away from the damage. He acknowledges hurting people he loved most, leaving them to deal with fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of loving someone who felt unrecognisable. Looking back, he says, he became detached from himself. West explains that this fractured mental state drove him toward “the most destructive symbol” he could find, the swastika. He made reference to past merchandise and imagery he now calls reckless and indefensible. He claims large parts of that period are difficult for him to recall.
“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions,”
he wrote, stressing that mental illness explains his behaviour but does not excuse it.
“I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”
Rock Bottom and the Long Way Back
He also turned inward, apologising to the Black community that supported him through every rise and fall. Calling it the foundation of who he is, West admitted he let that community down. The most sobering moment comes when he describes a four-month stretch in 2025 marked by paranoia, impulsivity, and psychosis. This manic episode he says “destroyed my life.” He credits his wife, Bianca Censori, with pushing him to seek help after he hit rock bottom.
Kanye Admits Mistakes, Promises Change
West says he found unexpected comfort in online forums where others with bipolar disorder shared their experiences, reminding him he wasn’t alone. He now claims to be following a strict treatment plan involving medication, therapy, exercise, and lifestyle changes, and says he’s finally thinking clearly again. He closes the letter without asking for sympathy or a free pass. He instead, asks for patience and time. “I’m trying to find my way home,” he wrote. But, whether the world is willing to wait is another story entirely.
