NEW YORK, Jan 27 — Rapper Kanye West yesterday denied being a Nazi and expressed regret over his antisemitic rants, blaming such behaviour — which included recording a song that celebrates Hitler — on his bipolar disorder.

The disgraced 48-year-old music star, who has lost fans and business deals in recent years because of his racist or antisemitic outbursts, released his song Heil Hitler last May to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

The song has been banned on major music streaming platforms but is easy to find on the internet. Among other punishment it cost West his visa to travel to Australia.

West, who changed his name to Ye and struggled with bipolar disorder for years, said in an open letter published yesterday in The Wall Street Journal that when bipolar people are in a manic phase they do not feel sick.

“You think everyone else is overreacting. You feel like you’re seeing the world more clearly than ever, when in reality you’re losing your grip entirely,” said West, whose achievements include winning 24 Grammy awards.

In his letter entitled “To Those I’ve Hurt,” he said he sometimes has “disconnected moments” that lead to poor judgment and reckless behaviour, describing such instances as feeling like an out-of-body experience.

“I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change,” West said.

“It does not excuse what I did, though. I am not a Nazi or an antisemite. I love Jewish people.”

In late 2023 West apologised to Jews for having said “I love Nazis.”

In 2022, he caused outrage by wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “White Lives Matter,” seen as a racist insult to the Black Lives Matter movement, and by attending a dinner with Donald Trump that included the white supremacist and antisemite Nick Fuentes. — AFP