By Stacy M. Brown
(NNPA) – Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, used a full-page paid advertisement in The Wall Street Journal to directly address the Black community, apologizing for actions he says caused deep harm while describing a decades-long struggle with untreated brain injury and bipolar disorder that he says culminated in a destructive manic episode.
“To the Black community—which held me down through all of the highs and lows and the darkest of times,” Ye wrote, but notably did not place such an apology in any of the 230-plus Black-owned newspapers that comprise the Black Press of America and led by former NAACP President and civil rights activist Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. “The Black community is, unquestionably, the foundation of who I am. I am so sorry to have let you down. I love us.”
The advertisement, titled “To Those I’ve Hurt,” appeared in the January 26, 2026, edition of the newspaper and is signed simply, “With love, Ye.” In it, the artist traces the origins of his mental health struggles to a car accident 25 years ago that he says caused an undiagnosed injury to the right frontal lobe of his brain.
“Twenty-five years ago, I was in a car accident that broke my jaw and caused injury to the right frontal lobe of my brain,” Ye wrote. “At the time, the focus was on the visible damage—the fracture, the swelling, and the immediate physical trauma. The deeper injury, the one inside my skull, went unnoticed.”
Ye said comprehensive scans were never conducted and that neurological exams were limited, delaying a diagnosis until 2023. “That medical oversight caused serious damage to my mental health and led to my bipolar type-1 diagnosis,” he wrote.
Throughout the letter, Ye described bipolar disorder as an illness that disguises itself as clarity and strength. “Bipolar disorder comes with its own defense system. Denial,” he wrote. “When you’re manic, you don’t think you’re sick. You think everyone else is overreacting.”
“According to the World Health Organization and Cambridge University, people with bipolar disorder have a life expectancy that is shortened by ten to fifteen years on average and a 2x-3x higher all-cause mortality rate than the general population,” Ye wrote.
The letter addresses the personal cost of his actions on loved ones and supporters. “Some of the people I love the most, I treated the worst,” he wrote.
“In that fractured state, I gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, and even sold t-shirts bearing it,” Ye wrote. “I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change.”
“To the Black community—which held me down through all of the highs and lows and the darkest of times,” Ye wrote. “The Black community is, unquestionably, the foundation of who I am.”
“I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness,” Ye wrote. “I write today simply to ask for your patience and understanding as I find my way home.”