Why Kanye West is being sued for ‘anti-Black’ discrimination

Kanye West’s legal troubles continue with new “anti-Black” allegations involving his Yeezy and Donda Academy entities.

Kanye West is accused of “anti-Black” racism and “severe discrimination, harassment” by a former employee.

In a complaint filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Trevor Phillips claims that while working for West’s Yeezy brand and Donda Academy school, he witnessed West harshly “berate” Black employees and spew homophobic, fatphobic, and antisemitic rhetoric and more. Phillips is seeking damages in excess of $35,000.

Phillips alleges some of West’s problematic rants occurred in the presence of children attending the rapper’s Donda Academy. He also claimed West told students at the school that he wanted to shave their heads and intended to put a jail at the school where the students could be locked in cages.

“By filing this lawsuit, we hope our injured clients’ rights are vindicated, and that the famous artist Mr. West understands that his messages — which we alleged preach discrimination, antisemitism, and Hitler-love — have no place in the world,” Phillips’ attorney, Carney R. Shegerian, said in a statement, per People.

Attempts to reach a representative for West were not immediately successful; this article will be updated in the event of a response from his legal team. 

According to the lawsuit obtained by Variety, Phillips was hired in November 2022 to work for Yeezy to oversee a project growing cotton and other plants to be used as materials within the brand’s clothing lines as part of larger plans to develop a “self-sustainable Yeezy community.”

This was also during a significantly tumultuous time in the controversial celebrity’s life, which included his 2022 Paris Fashion Week Yeezy show, which featured “White Lives Matter” shirts. West’s escalating antics led to the end of his partnerships with Gap, Balenciaga, and longtime partner Adidas, which ceased its Yeezy collaboration in October 2022. (The brand continues to sell remaining stock and designs of the label.) 

Phillips remained employed by West for just under a year through August 2023, during which he alleges he experienced escalating levels of intimidation, including the threat of physical violence.

Eventually, Phillips began working for Donda Academy, where his daughter and younger brother were enrolled. During that time, he claims West would “often” tout harmful rhetoric at the school.

“In front of the schoolchildren, Kanye continued his dangerous rhetoric. Kanye openly discussed how he only likes to date White women,” the complaint reads, per People magazine, which added that West then directly addressed two schoolchildren. “Kanye told them that he wanted them to shave their heads and that he intended to put a jail at the school — and that they could be locked in cages. The staff quickly distracted the children and escorted them out of the room,” the complaint alleges.

Phillips further claims West would often “scream [at] and berate” Black employees in ways he did not his white employees, including telling a Black security guard with locs that he had to shave his head or be fired. He also alleges West said he would fire anyone who was “fat.”

The former employee recalled an alleged encounter with West in which the star simulated masturbation and made homophobic rants during a dinner meeting at Nobu in Malibu.

Further on in the complaint, Phillips notes West openly discussed spending $2 million of the school’s budget on a trip to Paris.

According to the suit, things took a turn for the worse between Phillips and West in May 2023. He alleges the founder reduced him to tears while admonishing him in front of 100 people during a “Sunday Service” at Donda Academy over the poor development of the school’s garden. He allegedly told Phillips he was “f— fired,” ripped up some of the plants and threatened to punch Phillips in the face before giving him another chance. According to the complaint, the harsh encounter was made even more inappropriate because the school’s garden wasn’t Phillips’ responsibility at the time.

“His dream of working for someone he once admired was like his spirit — crushed,” the suit states. “While Kanye considered himself a god or a king, in reality, he was an ill-tempered tyrant and despot who sought to mentally obliterate and control those around him.”

Phillips’ lawsuit is the latest to be filed concerning West’s failed academy. In April 2023, two former teachers filed suit against the rapper, claiming the private Christian school allegedly violated multiple Department of Education requirements and did not follow state regulations. This new lawsuit also arrives just a few weeks after West and rapper Ty Dolla $ign were sued by the estate of Donna Summer over unauthorized use of her hit song “I Feel Love” on their collaborative project “Vultures 1.”

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