Kanye West Says He Was '2 Months From Going Bankrupt' After Anti-Semitism Controversy: 'We Survived'

The artist formerly known as Kanye West says he was mere months away from bankruptcy following his anti-Semitism controversy in 2022.

Speaking this week at the Los Angeles International Airport with various paparazzi, including videographers for TMZ and X17, among others, Ye said he and his business team “survived through the cancellation” following a relocation to Italy.

"I'mma just be honest with y'all. I was two months from going bankrupt," Ye, whose Ty Dolla Sign collab album Vultures 1 was released last week, said. "I put everything I had into it. We moved to Italy, we moved to the factories, and we survived. We survived through the cancellation. We back No. 1."

Last December, Ye shared a statement in Hebrew to Instagram in which he apologized "to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions." According to the statement, Ye had "regret" for "any pain I may have caused."

As subsequently reported, the statement in question, which came just over a year after Ye's "I like Hitler" appearance on Alex Jones' podcast (itself preceded by a number of comments widely criticized as anti-Semitic), was subsequently placed at the center of speculation of the A.I. variety.

During his conversation with paparazzi this week, Ye seemingly addressed that speculation.

"I even said the apology and they still fucked with me," he said at one point.

Elsewhere, Ye stopped short of agreeing to "take back" any of his past remarks, likening some of the events of 2022 to "a grown-up conversation" witnessed by children.

"For all the kids that love me, all the Jewish kids that love me, I’m sorry if y’all had to hear a grown-up conversation with us screaming at each other," he said. "But we got to a point where something needed to happen. Something needed to be said. Somebody needed to say something. When you’re in an argument with somebody, you’re not gonna say everything the right way."

Ye was also asked to give his thoughts on Israeli military forces' ongoing violence against Palestinians following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, though he was quick to point out that he doesn't "have enough information" when it comes to this issue.

"I don’t have enough information," he said. "It’s love for everybody. But don’t pull me into that conversation. I got 14 kids dying every week in my city, so talk to me about that."

As for the bankruptcy talk, Ye has made similar financial claims in the past. Back in 2016, notably, he publicly asked Mark Zuckerberg for an investment after alleging he had $53 million in personal debt. At the time, a fan started a GoFundMe to contribute to digging Ye out of this alleged hole, though then-wife Kim Kardashian seemingly used a chunk of video game profits to take care of the issue.

That same year, Ye rapped about buying a jet "to fly over personal debt" in the Taylor Swift-mentioning "Famous," the video for which was recently brought back into headlines thanks to some choice lyrics on the Vultures 1 track "Carnival."