Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, revealed that he was under the influence of alcohol when he posted an anti-Semitic tweet in October 2022.
In an episode of Candace Owens' podcast, Candacewhich was filmed in 2022 but released on August 7, the rapper admitted he had been drinking when he posted the highly offensive statement.
“I was drinking when I tweeted DEFCON,” Ye explained on the podcast. “Do you want to know what alcohol I had in me? Hennessy. It makes us gray. The demons [come out].”
Ye told Owens that he had not disclosed this information earlier as he did not want his words to be “used up” because he still believed they reflected the “truth”.
The Yeezy founder posted the hateful tweet in October 2022, which read: “I'm a little sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going to die for the JEWS.”
“The funny thing is, I can't actually be anti-Semitic because black people are actually Jews too. You guys played with me and tried to blackmail anyone who opposes your agenda.”
The tweet led to West's immediate suspension from the platform and led to a major public backlash and the loss of several business deals for Ye. Companies like Adidas, Balenciaga and Gap cut ties with the rapper. Losing his earnings from his lucrative partnership with Adidas meant he lost his billionaire status.
West initially refused to retract his statement. In an interview with Piers Morgan amid the drama, he said he was “not at all sorry” for his comments, but regretted the hurt he caused.
In a rare moment of remorse, Kanye later issued an apology to the Jewish community in December 2023.
The post, written in Hebrew, said: “I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any 'unwanted outburst.' I did not mean to hurt or belittle and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused.” However, the apology has since been deleted.
This is the first time West has attributed questionable behavior to Hennessy.
At the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, he referenced Taylor Swift's 2009 acceptance speech interruption, where she appeared to place some of the blame on drinking Hennessy.
“If I had to do it all over again, what would I do? Would I wear a leather shirt? Would I have drunk half a bottle of Hennessy and given the rest to the public?' he asked while accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
