November 15, 2024
Kanye West, a renowned rapper and record producer, is in trouble as he has been sued by one of his employees.
According to People magazine, Murphy Aficionado, a former Yeezy employee, is suing Kanye West (now legally named Ye) and his companies, Donda Academy and Yeezy LLC.
Asking for a jury trial, Aficionado filed 12 complaints, such as harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
Aficionado, who worked as a project manager at Yeezy for nine months, claimed that he was “unlawfully” fired and not paid for his work.
In the complaint, he mentioned that the Heartless singer made antisemitic comments, including saying, "The Jews got [ex-wife] Kim [Kardashian] and my kids.'"
It was also cited that West made negative comments about Aficionado’s Filipino background and ordered him to remove his traditional Filipino tattoos, which are famous as “Batok,” because he (West) found them “ugly.”
Aficionado said he started working for Kanye West in October 2022 and worked 50-70 hours a week, and “on several occasions even slept at the office.”
The lawsuit claims that in February 2023, West allegedly told Aficionado to move Donda Academy (West’s school) to a new location and when Aficionado explained that building permits were needed, West “became irate and yelled that he would not accept waiting or using permits.”
By July 2023, a Donda Academy representative said the school “would no longer be in operation," and soon after that, Yeezy tasks from Aficionado were taken away and “he was no longer welcome in the offices.”
The lawsuit concluded with stating that this caused Aficionado financial and emotional harm and also claimed that “Defendants violated these laws by failing to provide [the] plaintiff's last paycheck promptly and failing to pay penalties, including additional wages, interest, and fees.”
It is pertinent to mention that despite serious claims against West, he has still not released a statement in his defence.