Kanye sued by his ex ‘fixer’ for threats and retaliation

A former employee of rapper Kanye West and his clothing brand Yeezy is suing him for labor law violations and infliction of emotional distress, claiming Ye threatened to kill him because “he got into conspiracy theories and erratic, reckless and dangerous behavior.” the employee’s lawyer said on Thursday.

The anonymous employee identified himself as a Michigan resident who was hired by Ye as deputy campaign director after the rapper’s failed 2020 presidential bid, according to the civil lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The employee, a military veteran diagnosed with PTSD, also served as “director of intelligence” for Yeezy, charged with conducting various investigations, including investigations involving attorneys and parties who filed charges against Yeezy, Ye and affiliates entities, the complaint said.

Representatives for Ye did not immediately respond to The Times’ requests for comment on Friday.

John Doe, as the employee is listed in the filing obtained by The Times, said he was hired by Ye in December 2022 and was reportedly tasked with investigating various conspiracy theories and “brainstorming ideas to put Ye in the news.” keep.” That included a discussion about “getting involved in both national and international headlines, handling investigations and NDAs,” which eventually transitioned into full-time work for the rapper and his company, according to the complaint.

Doe also claimed he was a “fixer” and was asked to investigate the family of Ye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian and “believed to have various criminal ties to criminal enterprises, including alleged sex trafficking.” The Grammy-winning rapper also had Doe hire private investigators to follow his wife, Bianca Censori, without her knowledge as she visited family in Australia.

The employee alleged that when the “Heartless” rapper began letting go of much of Yeezy’s leadership team in or around May 2024, Ye also grew titanium teeth and consumed nitrous oxide, which the employee said “led to some of the erratic behavior ‘. the complaint said.

Shortly afterwards, and upon learning of alleged child abuse at Ye’s controversial Donda Academy, Doe claimed that Ye called on him “to shout, curse and threaten (him) with great bodily harm, including death, if (he) repeated what (he) said. learned” from a Donda employee. At one point he told Doe, “You’re dead to me!” and played a recording of “scary voices threatening to harm him.” The employee claimed that in the days and weeks that followed, he received threats from Ye’s associates, known as “enforcers,” which worsened his PTSD.

“The stress and trauma caused by the threats, hostile work environment, and Plaintiff’s exposure to illegal and unethical activities seriously affected his mental and emotional well-being,” the complaint said. “Plaintiff suffered panic attacks, anxiety and severe emotional distress, leading him to seek medical attention and be placed in a facility to address his declining mental health.”

He claimed he was fired and retaliated against “through a campaign of threats, intimidation and intimidation” for reporting child abuse claims, drug use and “his refusal to engage in unethical activities.”

The defendants also “willfully and intentionally” failed to provide him with complete and accurate wage statements and withheld all wages owed to him from his final paycheck – violations of the California Labor Code.

Doe is seeking a jury trial and “more than seven figures in punitive and compensatory damages, including unpaid wages,” his legal team said in a statement to The Times. He cited retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and numerous labor law violations as causes of action.

Doe’s lawsuit is the latest in a legal pile-up for the ‘Famous’ rapper.

Last year, Ye was sued over alleged workplace abuse by two former teachers at his Donda Academy, an unaccredited private school in the Los Angeles area that closed in 2022.

In April, Trevor Phillips, a former employee of Yeezy and Donda Academy, also sued the megastar, his Yeezy clothing brand and the school. Phillips alleged, among other things, discrimination, a hostile work environment, whistleblower retaliation and unsafe working conditions.

In June, Ye was accused in a separate lawsuit of sexually harassing a personal assistant.

In July, he was sued by former employees of his Yeezy brand who accused him, Yeezy and the rapper’s former chief of staff, Milo Yiannopoulos, of fostering a toxic workplace characterized by racial discrimination, forced labor and failing to pay employees for their work. .

“You have only yourself to blame for his mounting legal troubles,” Doe’s attorney, Ron Zambrano, said in a statement to The Times on Thursday. “He simply cannot continue to hire workers, treat them terribly and then refuse to pay them in violation of numerous labor laws, let alone threaten to kill them as he did in this case.”

Zambrano said his client is “so afraid of Ye and his erratic, disturbing and unpredictable behavior” that he wishes to remain anonymous for his own safety.

“It is not only illegal but unconscionable that an employer would threaten an employee with bodily harm or death,” he said.