Kid Cudi says Kanye’s all better now, so it’s totally okay that he performed with him. The rapper, once a close friend of Kanye West, has shown he is ready to move past a year that saw West put out a song called “Heil Hitler” and sell T-shirts marked with Nazi imagery.
The Large Apology
At the start of 2026, Kanye West took out a large ad in The Wall Street Journal. The ad was a broad apology for what he said and did in 2025, the year West put out “Heil Hitler” and sold the T-shirts.
West has legally changed his name to Ye. The ad did not address his earlier history of comments against Jewish people, comments that cost him nearly all of his brand partnerships back in 2022.
What West Actually Said
In the ad, West said he actually loves Jewish people. He said he had turned toward the worst mark of hate he could find, while going through a hard period in his mind.
That explanation did not appear to convince many people. It did not convince some governments either.
The Shows That Got Stopped
Shows West planned in France and the U.K. were both stopped in recent months. Both countries have strict rules against Nazi talk, and the stopping of the shows was tied to those rules.
One Person Came Around
West’s apology does seem to have reached at least one person: Kid Cudi. The two were once close friends. Cudi’s comments suggest he now sees West as “good,” and Cudi has performed alongside him again.
Cudi’s stance stands out given the timeline. West has gone roughly 18 months without putting out that kind of hate again, by this accounting, and Cudi’s choice to perform alongside him again marks a plain change from the wider public and government feeling toward West.
Facts To Know
- The ad ran in The Wall Street Journal at the start of 2026
- The ad addressed conduct from 2025, including “Heil Hitler” and the T-shirts
- West’s 2022 brand deals were taken away over earlier comments, which the 2026 ad did not address
- Shows in France and the U.K. were stopped in the past few months over rules against Nazi talk
- Kid Cudi and Kanye West have a history as friends
What The Apology Left Out
West’s ad framed 2025 as a single mistake tied to a hard period in his mind, not as something that kept going from the comments that marked his public image years earlier. That framing left out the 2022 trouble entirely.
Whether that framing satisfies the public, promoters or governments beyond Kid Cudi remains an open question. For now, the feeling is split between people: one old friend calling him “good,” and two countries keeping his shows off their stages, with no sign yet of that changing.
Source: avclub.com
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.