Color Me Skeptical: Ye's Apology

Why Ye’s apology feels transactional, mistimed, and not actually meant for us.

In case you missed it, Kanye West published a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal last week entitled – “To Those I’ve Hurt.”

So, I’ll first say that my intent here is not to minimize what has seemed like Ye’s genuine struggle with mental health challenges.

For those of us who were “foundational” Kanye fans, we’ve seen his evolution and his very public battles with bipolar disorder. I’ve seen what bipolar disorder does to those I’ve love before, so I fully understand that some of what we have seen from him could have been manic episodes where he “lost touch with reality.”

I also understand the role that grief can play in compounding mental health challenges. Kanye tragically lost his mother years ago, and in the spirit of fairness – and recognizing Ye’s humanity here – there’s no way that you lose your mother in that fashion and come out unscathed. And, to do all of this in the public eye with very public battles with your children’s mother, your former business partners and others can’t be easy.

So, I say what I’m about say with a full acknowledgement of the various factors at play in Ye’s apology and the factors that led to it:

I’m skeptical.

And, I really want to find a way to bring Ye back to our community in an authentic way, but too much here is a red flag that, unfortunately, feels more transactional and geared toward the release of his next album than the apology that we really needed to see.

And, to be clear, the “we” here is the Black folks who rocked with Kanye first, wore two polos to the club with our collars popped, supported him before he was a household name, and who have wanted Kanye to heal.

So – why I’m skeptical:

First, he’s about to release a new album on March 20^th. And the same Wall Street Journal that published his ad also shared the origins of the ad – “The Makings of a Kanye West Apology: An All-Staff Meeting and a 7-Figure Record Deal” – noting the obvious: “[that] [t]his is not the first time that Ye has apologized before a new album. In late 2023, as he prepared to release “Vultures 1,” he wrote on Instagram in Hebrew that “I deeply regret any pain I may have caused.” So, there’s that.

Then, it’s the venue itself, the Wall Street Journal. I have no major issues with the WSJ (though, I often disagree with its political and editorial contributors). We know who reads the WSJ, and it’s not Black folks – not most of us at least. And, paying for an ad that goes to Rupert Murdoch-owned NewsCorp, who also owns Fox Corporation (and Fox News), is designed to speak to white business types. Not a newsflash to anyone but imagine had this been placed with a Black-owned media organization or the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s 230 black-owned regional and local outlets or The Grio or The Root.

All these outlets could benefit from both the investment and the clicks that he gave to the WSJ with this ad. This was a choice, and he didn’t choose us – again.

And, finally, while he does acknowledge the pain that he has caused African Americans, the WSJ apology doesn’t feel commensurate with the harm caused. “Slavey was a choice”, “White Lives Matter”, ranting and appearing to support President Trump from the Oval Office, claiming erroneously that 50% of Black death comes from abortions, and calling racism a “dated concept” requires more than a one off apology in an outlet that we don’t read. If you want us to care (which it's not clear that he cares if we care at all), you need to talk to Black press, go on Black podcasts, place an apology for us in our outlets – and most importantly – actually talk to us genuinely and authentically in the way that we’ve authentically and genuinely been there for you through it all.

We bought the Yeezies, we still buy the tickets to his shows (sadly), many of us stood by him – and continue to do so – despite the incidents above.

But maybe that’s the problem.

We should expect more from the people that we invest our time and money in, particularly when they’re the same people who look to us for safe haven when they offend other communities.

But, they never come correct to us.

I really to do hope that Kanye finds himself and get what he needs to be where he needs to be.

He just might have to do it without us.