Kanye West apologized Wednesday for his controversial comment that slavery was a “choice,” and admitted he “let down” some of his fans when he said it.
“I don’t know if I properly apologized for how that slave comment made people feel,” West said during an interview with Chicago radio station WGCI-FM. “So I want to take this moment right now to say that I’m sorry for hurting, I’m sorry for the one-two effect of the MAGA hat into the slave comment.”
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In May, the rapper stunned fans when he went on TMZ and stated: “When you hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years?! That sounds like a choice.”
Three months later, West told his hometown radio station he now realizes how disappointed his fans were by the statement.
“I’m sorry for people who felt let down by that moment, and also I appreciate you guys giving me the opportunity to talk to you about the way I was thinking and what I was going through and what led me to that,” he said.
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West added that the incident “showed me how much black people love me and how much black people count on me and depend on me and I appreciate that.”
Later in the interview, one of the hosts choked up as she urged West to be more careful with his comments. “When you speak, the whole world listens,” she said.
The rapper then hugged her and tried to reassure her. Before the interview ended, West promised to do better.
“It’s going to be a new Kanye West, and it’s going to be better,” he said. “It’s going to be better because of this mental health situation, it’s going to be better because of this TMZ situation.”
