Kanye West Accused of Anti-Black Racism in Lawsuit From Ex-Employee
Written by laserteam on April 2, 2024
(Variety) – A former employee accused Kanye West of anti-Black racism in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, and also claimed that he had witnessed West’s homophobic and antisemitic outbursts.
The employee, Trevor Phillips, who is Black, alleged that West had berated him and humiliated him in front of others, and that several employees noted that West treated Black employees worse than white ones.
“During his tenure, Phillips never witnessed West yell and berate a white person, but on countless occasions he saw and/or personally experienced Kanye frenziedly yell at Black people,” the lawsuit states.
Phillips was hired in November 2022 to work for Yeezy, West’s fashion brand, and also worked at Donda Academy, his private school. According to the complaint, his job included overseeing a project growing cotton and other crops as part of a plan to develop a self-sustaining community.
At the time, West’s career was in free-fall following a series of antisemitic remarks on Twitter and in interviews. Adidas had dropped a lucrative deal with him the previous month. According to the suit, West also engaged in antisemitic tirades during staff meetings at Donda Academy, including once in the presence of two children.
Phillips was present when West said things like “the Jews are out to get me” and “the Jews are stealing all my money,” the suit alleges. He also told the two children present at a meeting that he wanted to shave their heads, and that he planned to build a jail at the school, and the children could be locked in cages, the suit alleges.
Shortly after Phillips was hired, West invited him to a meeting at the Nobu hotel in Malibu, where West allegedly praised Hitler and said he hated Jewish people, according to the suit. He also stated that the “Jews are working with Adidas to freeze up my money,” the suit alleges.
According to the complaint, West demanded that the hotel staff put on “The Batman,” starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz, and that he and Phillips watched the movie with the volume turned to zero. The suit states that West lay flat on his back on the bed and mimicked masturbating while the movie was playing, and talked about having orgies.
The suit also quotes West as attacking gay people during the meeting, saying that they are “controlled by Bill Gates so they don’t have children for population control.”
