Kanye West has revealed that he skipped out on President Donald Trump’s inauguration last month because he was asked to issue another apology for his antisemitic remarks.
During a Grammys 2025 after-party — which took place hours after he and wife Bianca Censori sent shockwaves with their nude stunt on the red carpet — the “Vultures” rapper explained why he didn’t attend Trump’s swearing in ceremony — despite being a fan of the president.
In a clip obtained by TMZ of an unreleased conversation between West, 47, and Justin LaBoy on his “Respectfully Justin” podcast, West said “censorship stigma” caused him to miss the festivities.
“I was gonna go to the inauguration but they told me I had to write another apology, saying yeah, that I wasn’t … what’s the word?” West could be heard saying in the clip, which was shared to a big screen at the afterparty bash.
“Antisemitic,” LaBoy chimed in after the 24-time Grammy winner pretended to forget the term.
The “Runaway” rapper’s comments about Trump’s inauguration come more than a year after he issued an apology to the Jewish community for a series of his antisemitic outbursts that took place during promotion of his “Vultures” album.
The “All of the Lights” rapper shared the since-deleted message, which was written entirely in Hebrew, on Instagram Christmas Day 2023.
“I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst caused by my words or actions, it was not my intention to hurt or disrespect, and I deeply regret any pain I may have caused,” read West’s message, translated from Hebrew.
“I am committed to starting with myself and learning from this experience to ensure greater sensitivity and understanding in the future.”
The Yeezy designer’s act of atonement followed his latest antisemitic tirade in Las Vegas in Dec. 2023 in which he ranted and raved about Trump, Jesus and Adolf Hitler.
In 2022, the “Stronger” hitmaker lost his lucrative partnership deals with both Balenciaga and Adidas for hateful comments he made on social media.
Still, President Trump last year called the rapper “complicated,” and went on to praise his character despite the rapper’s many controversial moments.
“He’s a really nice guy,” Trump, 78, said in August 2024. “But he can get some people into trouble. He’s got a good heart—he does, he does, but he’s complicated.”
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