Inside Rabbi Pinto’s Unlikely Bond With LeBron James — And Why Kanye West Apologized

File this under: unexpected crossovers. LeBron James, Kanye West, and a rabbi who advises billionaires all share some history — and it just resurfaced in a very public way.

LeBron and the rabbi he calls for big decisions

Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto — a spiritual figure with serious business-world pull — has been in LeBron James' orbit for years. Back in 2010, LeBron met Pinto on a private yacht off New York for what was described as a big merchandising meeting, reportedly paying a six-figure fee for the rabbi's counsel. The connection didn’t end there: LeBron has stayed visibly close to Pinto and was even photographed holding hands with him at the 2022 New York City wedding of Jeffrey Schottenstein (son of billionaire Jay Schottenstein).

Pinto isn’t just a rabbi; he blurs the line between spiritual guide and business adviser, working with celebrities, entrepreneurs, and political players through his Mosdot Shuva Israel organization, which operates out of Ashdod, Israel, and New York City. In 2012, Israel’s Globes business journal labeled him one of the country’s wealthiest rabbis.

The complicated part

Pinto’s career hasn’t been controversy-free. In 2014, he admitted to bribing a senior police officer. That guilty plea led to a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 1 million shekels; he began serving time in February 2016. Then, in 2019, he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Morocco — yes, that timeline is exactly as wild as it sounds — and he’s continued advising high-profile figures ever since.

Ye shows up to apologize

Cut to November 4, 2025: Kanye West (now Ye) sat down with Pinto in New York City and apologized. Video from the meeting shows Ye taking responsibility for past comments about Jewish people and saying his bipolar disorder pushed his ideas to extremes that hurt others and himself.

"I feel really blessed to be able to sit here with you today and just take accountability. I was dealing with some various issues of bipolar, so it would take the ideas I had and have me take them to an extreme where I would forget about the protection of the people around me and myself."

He also likened his behavior to a kid left alone in a house who makes a mess — when the parent returns, the cleanup is their responsibility. Pinto, speaking through a translator, hugged Ye and called him a very good man. He also offered this line, which is basically the thesis of the whole meeting:

"A person is not defined by his mistakes, but by the way he chooses to correct them. This is the true strength of man: The ability to return, to learn, and to build bridges of love and peace."

Context for all of this

Ye’s apology follows his 2022 posts threatening to go 'death con 3 on Jewish people,' which wiped out a bunch of business relationships — companies including Universal Music Group, Balenciaga, Adidas, and Gap cut ties. On November 6, Nicki Minaj publicly said she was happy to see Ye take accountability, calling it a necessary first step toward rebuilding trust.

Quick timeline, because this saga spans a decade

• 2010: LeBron reportedly pays six figures to meet Rabbi Pinto on a yacht off New York about merchandising.
• 2012: Business journal Globes names Pinto among Israel’s wealthiest rabbis.
• 2014: Pinto pleads guilty to bribing a high-ranking police officer; gets one year in prison and a 1 million shekel fine.
• Feb 2016: Pinto begins serving his sentence.
• 2019: Pinto is appointed Chief Rabbi of Morocco.
• 2022: LeBron is seen holding hands with Pinto at Jeffrey Schottenstein’s NYC wedding; meanwhile, Ye posts incendiary comments about Jewish people and loses major brand deals (UMG, Balenciaga, Adidas, Gap).
• Nov 4, 2025: Ye meets Pinto in NYC and apologizes on camera, citing accountability and mental health.
• Nov 6, 2025: Nicki Minaj says she’s glad to see Ye owning up.

Why it matters

This is one of those corners of pop culture where athletes, music stars, and business power brokers all lean on the same spiritual fixer. LeBron’s long-running connection to Pinto explains why this meeting is getting traction far beyond religious circles, and Ye choosing this rabbi as the person to publicly apologize to adds a layer of strategic symbolism on top of the sincerity he’s trying to project. Whether it moves the needle for Ye’s standing is another story — but as a moment, it’s undeniably notable.