Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, is being sued by a disgruntled employee who alleges he experienced “severe discrimination” and harassment from the hip-hop legend and business mogul.
The plaintiff, Trevor Phillips, was hired by the Yeezy fashion company in November 2022 and immediately was assigned to help at Donda Academy, a school for young children Ye founded to promote a Christian education in the Los Angeles area. Phillips, a Black man, claims Ye would never “berate a white person, but on countless occasions, he saw and/or personally experienced Kanye frenziedly yell at Black people.”
The lawsuit also claims Ye was prone to launch into antisemitic tirades at the school in front of employees.
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“Phillips, on several occasions, witnessed Kanye preach to his staff obscenities such as ‘the Jews are out to get me’ and ‘the Jews are stealing all my money’,” the suit reads.
Related: Adidas CEO Defends Ye, Says He ‘Didn’t Mean What He Said’
Phillips—who stopped working for Ye in August 2023—also claims that Ye praised Adolf Hitler, saying he was a “great” man at a high-scale restaurant in Los Angeles. “Hitler was an innovator. He invented so many things. He’s the reason we have cars,” Ye said, possibly referring to Hitler’s Autobahn program. Hitler did not invent cars.
Ye allegedly told two young students at the Donda Academy to shave their heads and threatened to put them in cages.
“Kanye also told the employees… that no staff could be fat – otherwise he would fire them,” the suit read.
Phillips, who is being represented by Carney R. Shegerian, is looking for $35,000 in compensation. “We hope… that the famous artist Mr West will understand that his messages, which we allege preach discrimination, anti-Semitism, and love for Hitler, have no place in the world,” said Shegerian.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics and business for VT and a regular guest on The Unusual Suspects. Follow Shane’s work here.
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