Guess what, guys. Kanye West learned his lesson. No, for real this time. You can totally tell because he addressed his apology in Hebrew script on Instagram. It probably has nothing to do with that album he’s been promoting (and failing to release), Vultures. He’s really sorry for all those horrible things he said about Jewish people… honest!
Insert fart noise here.
Look, we’re far past the point where the people who want to support Kanye are going to be moved either way, and those of us who rightly want him held accountable probably won’t be interested in hearing what he has to say. But there are still plenty of companies with whom he probably wishes to do business and despite seemingly shrugging off the loss of huge corporate interests like Adidas and Gap, Kanye still needs venues to perform at and someone to help him sell music. I find it hard to believe it’s a coincidence that he’s issuing his first apology after struggling to find a distributor for Vultures or book a tour for it.
On his recently restored Instagram, he posted a lengthy statement in Hebrew, translated by Rolling Stone, that reads:
I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any ‘unintended outburst’ caused by my words or actions. It was not my intention to hurt or demean, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused. I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future. Your forgiveness is important to me, and I am committed to making amends and promoting unity.
Among the things he’s said were the initial tweet that kicked it all off (“I am going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE”), appearing on right-wing conservative shows to parrot antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jewish people running the world, and as recently as early this month, rapping on a Vultures track, “How I’m antisemitic, I just f*cked a Jewish bitch,” amid other off-the-cuff musings during his two listening sessions.
Yeah, he definitely means it this time.