LOS ANGELES: Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has taken a moment to formally apologize for his behaviour in recent years. Going an unconventional way, West placed a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal and addressed his controversies. He also revealed being diagnosed with a brain injury, adding that it contributed to his mental health, as per Variety.
“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 pain. Comprehensive scans were not done, neurological exams were limited, and the possibility of a frontal-lobe injury was never raised. It wasn’t properly diagnosed until 2023. That medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type-I diagnosis,” he said, as quoted by Variety.
The rapper went on to share how he “lost touch with reality” and “ignored the problem.” “Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst. You endured fear, confusion, humiliation, and the exhaustion of trying to have someone who was, at times, unrecognisable. Looking back, I became detached from my true self,” he added.
In the statement, he also opened up on his controversial moments, including selling T-shirts with a swastika and wrote, “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-I are the disconnected moments — many of which I still cannot recall — that led to poor judgment and reckless behaviour that oftentimes feels like an out-of-body experience.”
Expressing deep regret and accountability for his actions, Ye shared, “I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change.”
