If ever the public was going to put aside its tendency to debate the sincerity of a given celebrity’s public apology until the word performative loses all meaning, it was not going to begin with Ye.

Ye insists his recent apology to the Black and Jewish communities is not a ploy to get back in good graces ahead of his album release. On Tuesday (Jan. 27), Vanity Fair published a Q&A with Ye where ...