A few months after apologizing for his past antisemitic behavior, rapper Kanye West, who now goes by “Ye,” is scheduled to perform a concert in the Los Angeles area.
According to the artist’s tour page, the show is set for April 3 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., and is currently his only scheduled performance in the United States this year.
The announcement comes after West issued a public apology earlier this year for a series of antisemitic statements that drew widespread condemnation and cost him major business partnerships. Jewish communal leaders say the apology must be followed by concrete actions demonstrating accountability.
In January, West took out a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal apologizing for years of antisemitic remarks and behavior. In the open letter, titled “To Those I’ve Hurt,” he said his actions stemmed in part from an undiagnosed frontal-lobe injury sustained in a 2002 car crash and from bipolar disorder, which he said went untreated until 2023. He wrote that he was “deeply mortified” by his conduct and was committed to “accountability, treatment and meaningful change.”
Ari Ingel, executive director of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Creative Community for Peace, told JNS that “Ye spent years spreading vile antisemitic conspiracy theories that led to real-world consequences for the Jewish community.”
“Even though he recently released a well-publicized ‘apology,’ the real question is whether he has demonstrated any sustained, meaningful change or taken any accountability for the damage he inflicted? He has not,” Ingel said.
Until he does, Ingel added, “no one and no company should be in business with him.”
‘Doesn’t undo his long history’
Ron Galperin, the interim regional director of the American Jewish Committee in Los Angeles, told JNS that “Ye has spewed and encouraged antisemitism for years and even profited from the sale of merchandise bearing the Nazi swastika.”
“While he has expressed regret over his behavior, what actions has he taken to prove it?” Galperin said. “Apologies are not enough if not followed by action.”
He added that West could start “by donating the profits from his sale of swastikas and his SoFi concert to the cause of fighting antisemitism.”
The Anti-Defamation League stated in January that “Ye’s apology to the Jewish people is long overdue and doesn’t automatically undo his long history of antisemitism.”
“The truest apology would be for him to not engage in antisemitic behavior in the future,” the ADL wrote. “We wish him well on the road to recovery.”
