Kanye West Insists in New Vanity Fair Interview His Apology is Not a PR Move

Kanye West has denied his lengthy apology in the Wall Street Journal is a part of an elaborate PR move. The rapper told Vanity Fair in an interview published Tuesday, January 27: "I owe a huge apology once again for everything that I said that hurt the Jewish and Black communities in particular."

West, 48, pointed out that despite his years of racist and antisemitic rhetoric, his music remains popular on Spotify.

"This, for me, as evidenced by the letter, isn’t about reviving my commerciality. This is because these remorseful feelings were so heavy on my heart and weighing on my spirit," he told the outlet by email. "I owe a huge apology once again for everything that I said that hurt the Jewish and Black communities in particular. All of it went too far. I look at wreckage of my episode and realize that this isn’t who I am. As a public figure, so many people follow and listen to my every word. It’s important that they realize and understand what side of history that I want to stand on. And that is one of love and positivity."

Kanye West Says He Has A "Checklist" Of Regrets

West also admitted to having a "checklist" of things he regrets from a span of several years. "Every day that I wake up, it’s a checklist of everything that I said—at least what I can recall—while in a bipolar episode," he explained. "All of the family bonds, deep relationships, and lifelong friendships that I worked so hard to build over so many years were all tarnished by all of the horrible statements that I made so impulsively."

The rapper also referenced a four-month-long period in 2025 that was especially difficult and credited his wife, Bianca Censori, with helping him find treatment in Switzerland. He is now on a different medication, something he said he had to come to terms with.

"I’ve been put on and taken off of many medications. That’s just part of the journey. The African American community has a hypersensitivity to antipsychotic drugs, more than most groups," West wrote. "Finding the right dosage is difficult, but it’s important and critical to finding the right balance with the illness. Zombifying otherwise becomes a side effect of a high dosage. The side effects as such have been a reality for me at times. And it’s known that 60% to 80% of people who have to take these antipsychotic drugs experience side effects, and up to 25% of people abandon using them because of the side effects. I’m just trying to find what works for me so that I can continue down this positive course."

Not Everyone Trusts Kanye West's Apology

Vanity Fair also spoke to experts who seemed hesitant to completely trust what the rapper has had to say. Dr. Avinoam Patt, director of the Center for the Study of Antisemitism at New York University, told the outlet that most people don't become antisemitic because they have bipolar disorder.

"I think what’s important to say is that the vast majority of people who have mental health issues, or specifically have bipolar disorder, don’t espouse antisemitic or racist ideas," Patt said. "And I’ll just say I’m skeptical because we now have a pattern that goes back years of antisemitic rants that reinforce harmful, dangerous stereotypes about Jews."

Patt also said that West has a steep uphill battle to climb, and it may end up impossible to do so.

“I think it would take years to recover from this, if at all,” he added. "I guess [the apology] is a start...but it would be most important to follow up with meaningful actions (and perhaps even new music) that conveys his newfound dedication to creating 'positive, meaningful art'—hopefully this will be art that spreads love and not hate, working to bring people together through his music.”

Related: Kanye West Apologizes For Past Behavior in Full-Length Wall Street Journal Ad