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The Anti-Defamation League has responded to Kanye West‘s recent apology to the Jewish community. As The Shade Room previously reported, the 46-year-old shared his apology on Tuesday, December 26.
This followed multiple instances of the rapper making controversial comments against the community over the past few years.
On Tuesday, December 26, the Anti-Defamation League took to its official X account, formerly known as Twitter, to share its response to the rapper’s apology.
The organization’s statement asserted that West used “his vast influence and platform to poison countless minds with vicious antisemitism and hate.” However, the rapper’s apology to the community — written in Hebrew — might be the “first step on a long journey towards making amends” with the community.
Read the Anti-Defamation League’s complete statement below.
As The Shade Room previously reported, Kanye West shared his apology via his official Instagram account earlier that day. In his message, translated from Hebrew to English, the rapper apologized for his “unintended” outbursts while explaining that his intentions were never to cause harm with his words.
Additionally, West explained that he deeply regrets any “pain” that his outbursts have caused. However, he is “committed to learning” from this experience.
“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 disrespect, 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,” the rapper explained.
As The Shade Room previously reported, Kanye West made headlines after he took to X in October of 2022 and shared a now-deleted antisemitic tweet.
“I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 (sp) On JEWISH PEOPLE,” the rapper wrote. “The funny thing is I actually can’t be anti-Semitic because Black people are actually [Jews], also you guys have toyed with me and tried to blackball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
According to Page Six, friends of West alleged that he was experiencing a mental breakdown. However, the rapper’s remarks caught a response from the Anti-Defamation League, which published a blog post addressing the rapper’s rhetoric.
“Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has recently used his media presence and social influence to espouse antisemitic tropes about Jewish intimidation, power and control… While Ye has been no stranger to controversy and antisemitism in recent years, this dangerous rhetoric may help advance the spread of existing false and antisemitic narratives shared by extremist groups,” the organization wrote in a post titled, “Unpacking Kanye West’s Antisemitic Remarks,” published on October 14, 2022.
The league continued to follow West’s remarks as the month continued. Additionally, the ADL published a recap of the rapper’s statements, explaining why they were disparaging in a post titled “Ye (Kanye West): What You Need To Know,” which was updated in January.
Amid the controversy, we must note that the rapper reportedly lost his billionaire status as Adidas, Balenciaga, and Gap cut ties with West.
West has remained out of the spotlight for the majority of 2023. However, he is now reportedly gearing up to release a joint album with Ty Dolla $ign.
