Kanye West has offered up a partial apology for his antisemitic comments.
Last weekend, the controversial rapper took to Twitter and asked, “Who you think created cancel culture (sic)?” He later added: “I’m going death con 3 (sic) On JEWISH PEOPLE.”
The following day, the tweet was removed by moderators because it violated the platform’s policy on hate speech.
During an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday, Kanye began the interview by denying that he regretted his comments.
“No, absolutely not,” he declared, before conceding that he realised the statements were racist. “Yeah, obviously that’s why I said it … Yes. I fought fire with fire. I’m not here to get hosed down.”
Yet, later in the conversation, Kanye changed his tune.
“I will say, I’m sorry for the people that I hurt with the DEFCON… the confusion that I caused. I feel like I caused hurt and confusion and I’m sorry for the families that had nothing to do with the trauma that I had been through,” the 45-year-old continued. “Hurt people hurt people – and I was hurt. It’s wrong to hold an apology hostage and I gotta let go of that. And free myself of the trauma.”
In recent days, a number of celebrities – including David Schwimmer, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Legend, and Jack Antonoff – as well as leaders of Jewish organisations, have condemned Kanye’s behaviour.