Kanye Swears He's Really Sorry and Not Trying To Promote an Album, You Guys

On Monday, Kanye West took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal to unload a massive mea culpa about his erratic behavior in 2025. Thanks to this administration, there have been eight billion scandals since then, so to recap it mildly, let’s just say Kanye was a walking-talking version of Twitter’s current form. He claims that frontal lobe damage from a 2002 car accident gave him bipolar disorder, and everything we saw was the result of four-month long manic episode. He’s reportedly back on medication, and here we are.

Naturally, the immediate and widespread reaction to Ye’s apology was, “Let me guess, he has a new album coming out.” And sure enough, he does! What are the odds? In a surprisingly self-aware move, Kanye realizes the timing doesn’t look great, so he agreed to an e-mail interview with Vanity Fair where he wants everyone to believe that he isn’t doing exactly what he’s doing:

Vanity Fair: Some will say that, regardless of the truth and tragedy of your diagnosis, this apology is a PR move so that you can release music and operate your businesses in the ways that you used to, without the stigma of people thinking you’re antisemitic. What would you say to them?

Ye: It’s my understanding that I was in the top 10 most listened-to artists overall in the US on Spotify in 2025, and last week and most days as well. My upcoming album, Bully, is currently one of the most anticipated pre-saves of any album on Spotify too. My 2007 album, Graduation, was also the most listened-to and streamed hip-hop album of 2025. 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. 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.

Basically, Kanye’s argument is that he’s not doing damage control because there’s no damage to control. People are still streaming his music. OK, fair. Taking Kanye at his word, it’s purely a coincidence that he’s decided to unburden his soul and open himself up four days before a new album drop. Let’s keep the transparency train moving then!

Vanity Fair sent questions to Ye over email, some of which he declined to answer, including those about where his antisemitic sentiments may have originated from and why, and how he has made amends in his personal life.

So, no answer on how this latest episode transported Kanye back in time to hang out with Nick Fuentes in 2022, or any word on when his wife can stop blinking in Morse code.

The new and improved Ye, everybody!