Kanye West meets New York Rabbi, says he’s ‘taking accountability’ for antisemitic remarks
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Kanye West says he is “taking accountability” for his antisemitic outbursts, blaming his past comments on struggles with bipolar disorder and expressing remorse during a private meeting with New York-based Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto.
Video from the meeting, held Tuesday and posted Thursday on Pinto’s official social media accounts, shows the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye, holding hands with the rabbi and apologizing.
“I feel really blessed to be able to sit here with you today and just take accountability,” West said in the video.
“I was dealing with some various issues of bipolar, so it would take the ideas I had and have me take them to an extreme where I would forget about the protection of the people around me and myself.”
He continued, “Sometimes people aren't that knowledgeable about bipolar and the way you act when you have this disease.”
So happy to see Kanye publicly take accountability for the pain his words may have caused to so many.
Standing with our Jewish brothers & sisters. https://t.co/NvXBwuaSoORabbi Pinto, speaking through a translator, described West as “a very good man,” and the two embraced.
In a statement accompanying the video, Pinto wrote: “A person is not defined by his mistakes, but by the way he chooses to correct them. This is the true strength of man: the ability to return, to learn, and to build bridges of love and peace.”
Pinto, known for his connections to Israeli public figures including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said he hoped the meeting would “serve as an example to the world of the power of faith and reconciliation.”
West shared the rabbi’s message and video on his X account, marking one of his few public appearances since a series of antisemitic tirades that led to bans on social media platforms and the loss of major brand partnerships.
In recent years, West has drawn widespread condemnation for praising Adolf Hitler, identifying as a Nazi, and releasing a song titled “Heil Hitler,” later renamed “Hallelujah.”