Kanye West Apologizes for Antisemitic Comments, Blames 'Psychotic' Behavior on Undiagnosed Brain Injury: 'I Lost Touch With Reality'

Kanye West is trying to make amends for his past erratic behavior and hurtful antisemitic comments.

On Monday, January 26, The Wall Street Journal published a full-page apology from the rapper, where he claimed his actions stem a 2002 car crash that left him with a brain injury.

"Twenty-five years ago, I was in a car accident that broke my jaw and caused injury to the right frontal lobe of my brain. At the time, the focus was on the visible damage — the fracture, the swelling, and the immediate physical trauma," he shared. "The deeper injury, the one inside my skull, went unnoticed."

West, 48, said he never underwent "comprehensive scans," and the "possibility of a frontal-lobe injury was never raised."

The "Heartless" vocalist believes brushing the situation under the rug was what led to his 2023 bipolar type-1 diagnosis.

"Bipolar disorder comes with its own defense system. Denial. When you're manic, you don't think you're sick. You think everyone else is overreacting," he explained. "You feel like you're seeing the world more clearly than ever, when in reality you're losing your grip entirely."

The dad-of-four felt people were quick to label him as "crazy" and make fun of him despite the serious effects.

"The scariest thing about this disorder is how persuasive it is when it tells you: You don't need help," he continued. "It makes you blind, but convinced you have insight. You feel powerful, certain, and unstoppable."

West admitted he "lost touch with reality," causing him to say and do things he "deeply regrets," including mistreating the people he loves the most.

West then addressed his Nazi propaganda, spilling, "I became detached from my true self. In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold t-shirts bearing it."

"One of the difficult aspects of having bipolar type-1 are the disconnected moments — many of which I still cannot recall that lead to poor judgment and reckless behavior that oftentimes feels like an out-of-body experience," he said. "I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people."

"In early 2025, I fell into a four-month long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life," he confessed. "As the situation became increasingly unsustainable, there were times I didn't want to be here anymore."

"Hitting rock bottom a few months ago, my wife encouraged me to finally get help," he said of Bianca Censori, 31, whom he married in December 2022.

"My words as a leader in my community have real global impact and influence. In my mania, I lost complete sight of that," the Grammy winner acknowledged. "As I find my new baseline and new center through an effective regime of medication, therapy, exercise and clean living, I have newfound, much-needed clarity."

"I'm not asking for sympathy or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness," concluded West. "I write today simply to ask for your patience and understanding as I find my way home."