Rapper Kanye West apologizes for antisemitic remarks

Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, on Tuesday issued an apology for posting antisemitic content on social media last year.

In an Instagram post, the US rapper wrote on Instagram that he regretted any pain that his words had caused and asked for forgiveness. He published the post in Hebrew.

What did Kanye West say?

"I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unplanned outburst. ... It was not my intent to hurt or disrespect, and I very much regret any pain I may have caused," the 46-year-old musician wrote.

"I am committed to begin with myself and to learn from this experience in order to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future."

"Your forgiveness is important to me, and I am committed to repair and to advancing unity," he added.

How did he cause offense?

Ye, one of the world's best-selling artists, sparked outrage last year with several erratic posts on social media.

One of them appeared to show a Nazi swastika symbol inside a Star of David.

He also praised German World War II dictator Adolf Hitler.

At one point, he said he was "going death con 3 on Jewish people", adding that they had "tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda."

In an interview with Tucker Carlson and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Ye also made derogatory remarks about Jewish people, which went viral.

The remarks also led to temporary restrictions on his social media accounts.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which is dedicated to the fight against hatred of Jews, even put some of his comments on its top ten list of the worst antisemitic incidents of 2022.

In response to his outbursts, Ye lost his partnership deals with Adidas and Gap for Yeezy products.

mm/dj (dpa, Reuters)