Kanye West apologizes to the BLACK community for recent comments - saying his statement about George Floyd was insensitive and bizarrely claiming that he too knows 'what it feels to have a knee on my neck right now'

• e-mail

Kanye West went on a bizarre rant on Friday night in front of gathered paparazzi in which he apologized for falsely claiming George Floyd died from the narcotic drug fentanyl rather than the reality which saw a Minneapolis police officer suffocating him by placing a knee on his neck for nine minutes.

West, who now goes by Ye, engaged with photographers for a lengthy conversation in which he also said he did not realize he was being anti-Semitic in earlier comments.

While West didn't apologize while making his remarks, he did say that he had been 'humbled' with the furor costing him an estimated $1 billion in business deals, including his highly-successful Yeezy line of clothing sold by Adidas. 

Kanye West apologized for falsely claiming George Floyd died from the narcotic drug fentanyl rather than at the hands of a police officer in May 2020

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit bill

West equated the experience akin to having a 'knee on my neck' in a direct comparison with Floyd's 2020 death under the hands of officer Derek Chauvin.

The conversation was both convoluted and confusing in which West would make statements before retracting them simultaneously.

'When I see that video as a black person, it hurts my feelings. And I know that police do attack and America is generally racist,' he said to waiting photographers. 'And I understand that when we got to say Black Lives Matter, that the idea of it made us feel good together as a people, right?

'So when I questioned the death of George Floyd, it hurt my people. I want to apologize. Because God has showed me by what Adidas is doing, by what the media is doing, I know how it feels to have a knee on my neck now,' he continued.

'So thank you God for humbling me and letting me know how it really felt. Because how could the richest black men ever be humbled other than to be made to not be a billionaire in front of everyone off of one comment.'

The family of George Floyd is currently in the midst of preparing a $250 million lawsuit against West for his unfounded claims made during a podcast earlier this month. 

West spoke at length to gathered photographers but much of what he had to say made little sense

During the Drink Champs podcast, West alleged that Floyd died from a fentanyl overdose. In the same interview, which has since been taken down by YouTube, West also made anti-Semitic comments. 

In May 2020, Floyd’s death sparked international outrage and sparked a global conversation about police brutality in the US after white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against the neck of the unarmed black man for a total of nine minutes and 29 seconds during an arrest outside a Cup Foods grocery store.

In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of three murder and manslaughter charges and is now serving two prison sentences concurrently of more than 22 years. Three other officers involved in the incident received lighter sentences.

In May 2020, Floyd’s death sparked international outrage and sparked a global conversation about police brutality in the US after white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against the neck of the unarmed black man for a total of nine minutes and 29 seconds during an arrest outside a Cup Foods grocery store

Furthermore, his anti-Semitic comment made on social media within the past week has proved costly and led to an exodus of brands and companies dropping the rapper, including talent agency CAA. 

Other brands including fashion house Balenciaga, and banking giant JP Morgan Chase have also dropped him.

His total wealth plummeted as it fell from a reported $2 billion to around $500 million following Adidas severing ties with him. 

West showed reporters and cameramen a list on Friday of Jewish executives at top media companies that the rapper believes are now targeting him

Last week, Hollywood super-agent Ari Emmanuel - who is Jewish - wrote a letter directed at members of his industry, encouraging them to disassociate from West and stop doing business with him.

Later on in the conversation, West said he believes God has been humbling him for bragging often about his wealth - much of which he has lost due to suspended brand deals.

West has famously declined to take any mood-stabilizing drugs - despite his diagnosis.

He said that if a doctor were to mix up a pill of his, he could end up like Prince - who died by accidental fentanyl overdose - or Michael Jackson - who died of anesthesia poisoning.

West has famously declined to take any mood-stabilizing drugs - despite his diagnosis

A host of high-profile brands have dropped Ye in recent days and weeks amid ongoing controversy over his social media posts and rants