Ben Deihl | sports editor

Modern apology statements — they’re about as ridiculous as they come. From Ellen DeGeneres apologizing on her namesake show for abusing her staff to Colleen Ballinger deciding that a ukulele song would be an appropriate way to show remorse after allegedly grooming underage fans.

Most recently, disgraced rapper Kanye West published a letter in The Wall Street Journal apologizing for his ongoing antisemitic behavior, his newest apology among a slew of abhorrent acts from the “Graduation” creator.

“I lost touch with reality,” West wrote in the full-page ad he bought in The Wall Street Journal. “Things got worse the longer I ignored the problem. I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did though.”

But West’s motivations for such reprehensible actions may be rooted deeper in himself, with his diagnosis of bipolar disorder and struggles with regulating such a severe lapse in his mental and physical health.

Published Monday, West apologized for his numerous antisemitic statements and actions, a rampage many saw beginning in late 2022. But Rolling Stone reported that West’s open admiration for Nazi Germany and its leader Adolf Hitler started as early as 2004, during the production of West’s debut album, “The College Dropout.”

“[West’s] pattern of speaking on this in the studio [or] workplace was reasonably consistent,” a former collaborator told Rolling Stone. “If he felt you were trustworthy … there was a reasonably high likelihood that he would attempt to engage with you and evangelize his beliefs about Hitler and the Nazis to you.”

Through the past two and a half years, West has made antisemitism and other problematic behavior a part of his daily routine, and his brand. He appeared on the notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ podcast in late 2022 to spread more antisemitism, discussing how he sees “good things about Hitler” before devolving into a rant about his skepticism of the Holocaust.

He also created his own account on the livestreaming service Twitch to further spread his beliefs, before getting a ban minutes into his first stream after spewing multiple antisemetic phrases and hitting Nazi salutes and chants.

But West didn’t stop there. On May 8, just 12 days after his Twitch ban, West released a single titled “Heil Hitler,” escalating his antisemitic behavior even more and letting the public see his true colors, while providing other antisemites with a crooked anthem created by one of the most popular rappers in the world.

The single went viral fast, exceeding over 6 million views on X, while multiple countries and streaming services scrambled to ban the song, with Australia even banning West’s travel visa after the release. The song was eventually banned by all streaming platforms, only allowing backdoor streams or posts from West himself as ways to listen.

It’s clear that West had completely destroyed his reputation with his antisemitic rampage, but his unravelling hasn’t stopped there. His divorce with reality TV star and beauty influencer Kim Kardashian was messier than it needed to be, he seems to have an odd relationship with his current wife, Bianca Censori, and who can forget his far-right presidential campaign in 2024? West has been all over the map in recent years, and his irregular behavior seems to run deeper than some might have originally thought.

In June 2024, one of West’s former assistants, Lauren Pisciotta, filed a lawsuit against him for sexual harassment and stalking. She alleged that she, along with many other of his employees, were subject to sexual harassment, stalking, antisemitic and racist remarks during their time with West’s personal attire and media company, Yeezy.

But according to West, his erratic behavior, especially recently, has a simple explanation — his nearly fatal 2002 car crash. On Oct. 23, 2002, West fell asleep behind the wheel after a long studio night, crashing his car and fracturing his jaw in three pieces, among other severe facial fractures and injuries.

With such extreme head and facial injuries, West revealed in January that he was also diagnosed with a “frontal-lobe injury,” the part of the brain that controls actions like decision making, problem solving and emotional regulation, among other essential functions.

West was diagnosed with bipolar I in 2016, which he attributed to his brain injury, after a psychiatric emergency. West was up front about his diagnosis, bolstered by the album cover for his 2018 drop, “Ye,” which reads “I hate being Bi-polar it’s awesome.”

“Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes dramatic shifts in a person’s mood, energy and ability to think clearly,” according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “People with bipolar experience high and low moods — known as mania and depression — which differ from the typical ups-and-downs most people experience.”

Bipolar I is one of the most difficult mental illnesses to treat, and the most severe form of bipolar disorder. The illness is headlined by the full manic episodes patients experience, as the disorder is often misdiagnosed as schizophrenia.

Although no clear, singular cause of Bipolar-I has been found yet, environmental causes like genetics, stress and brain structure can all play a role in diagnoses. It’s important to note that treatment is also difficult, as a combination of psychotherapy, medications and self-management can help, but there is no definitive cure to Bipolar-I.

It’s clear that West falls into this description of mental illness. He seems to go through phases of mania where his decision making and emotions are completely dysregulated, resulting in some of the harmful posts, comments and streams seen from him in the past three years and beyond.

Now, West’s mental illness isn’t supposed to operate as an excuse for his actions.. Rather, it serves as a reliable explanation for a years-long string of unregulated, inexplicable behavior that severely damaged West’s reputation.

Still, West has a lot to be ashamed of and a lot more people to apologize to, apart from his antisemitic spree. Pisciotta’s lawsuit still lingers over his head, along with the many different collaborators Rolling Stone spoke with in order to corroborate West’s actions both inside and outside of the studio.

Kanye serves as an important lesson for all to prioritize mental health and accept help when you need it. West was able to realize that he alienated his entire fanbase through his actions, only being able to see the severity of his situation in retrospect. As conversation about mental health continues to gain traction as its stigma melts away, West is a reminder of what can happen without proper help and support.

Ben Deihl can be reached at deihlb1@duq.edu