Kanye West has been named in a new lawsuit filed by an ex-employee, who claims that the embattled rapper has discriminated against the Black men and women on his team.
Court documents obtained by Page Six and filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday (April 26) allege that Benjamin Deshon Provo, a former security guard at the Donda Academy, suffered “severe emotional distress” as a result of West’s behavior.
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“Kanye and members of his management team subjected Provo and other black employees to less favorable treatment than their white counterparts,” read the lawsuit, in part. “Specifically, Kanye frequently screamed at and berated black employees, while in contrast, he never so much as raised his tone of voice toward white staff.”
Provo also alleged that West would ridicule his Black employees for wearing locs, even though Provo mentioned he did so because it was part of his Muslim faith.
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“Kanye and members of his management team required Provo to choose between these critical aspects of his self-identity and financial stability,” the complaint continued. “Indeed, at the direction of Kanye, Provo was given the ultimatum, cut his hair, or be fired.”
In addition to being forced to cut his hair, Provo alleged that Kanye West would ban books from prominent Black leaders, including Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
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Provo didn’t request a specific amount in damages in his lawsuit.
Earlier this month, Trevor Phillips, another former Donda Academy employee, also submitted a case while making several allegations of abuse and discrimination against the Chicago native. He joined the controversial institution back in 2022 and is now suing Ye for discrimination, harassment and creating a hostile work environment, according to TMZ.
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Per legal documents, the Yeezy boss allegedly “bullied” Black employees, repeatedly talked about porn addiction and even confessed to “masturbating a lot” despite being used to orgies.
Additionally, Phillips shared a recording he claims is his former boss saying: “Gay people are not true Christians. And gay people are controlled by Bill Gates so that they don’t have children for population control.”
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The plaintiff has also claimed that the “Flashing Lights” hitmaker said that “Hitler was great” and “Jews are greedy.”
In the same lawsuit, Phillips alleged that Kanye attempted to “install a jail at his school to ‘cage’ students,” “gave preferential treatment to white employees”and even threatened to punch him during what he referred to as a “temper tantrum.”
According to Rolling Stone, the 42-page complaint also details the defendant’s “spontaneous firings, a late-night summons to Nobu, watching The Batman on mute, and awkwardly navigating Ye pretending to masturbate.”
“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 said in a statement to People.
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So far, it isn’t clear how much West is being sued for as his representatives haven’t responded to HipHopDX‘s request for comment.
