Kanye West is facing serious legal trouble after a former Yeezy employee filed a lawsuit alleging that the rapper threatened to kill him during a tense dispute over a sensitive investigation.
The lawsuit, filed on October 10 in Los Angeles by a Michigan man who wishes to remain anonymous due to safety concerns, claims emotional distress, retaliation, and multiple violations of California labor laws.
According to USA Today, the plaintiff was hired by Kanye West in December 2022 to support his now-defunct presidential campaign. He initially served as Deputy Campaign Director before being promoted to Director of Intelligence.
In this role, he was tasked with investigating various associates and rivals of West, including members of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian‘s family, based on West’s unfounded suspicions of their connections to criminal activities, including alleged sex trafficking.
The lawsuit also reveals that the man was instructed to hire private investigators to surveil West’s current wife, Bianca Censori, while she was visiting her family in Australia—an action that raises serious ethical concerns.
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The relationship between Kanye West and the plaintiff reportedly soured earlier this year when the employee raised alarms about alleged child abuse at West’s Donda Academy. Around this time, the rapper began to dismiss many senior Yeezy staff and was suspected of using nitrous oxide, which the plaintiff claims contributed to West’s increasingly erratic behavior.
Tensions escalated when the plaintiff shared his concerns about the abuse allegations with other senior Yeezy employees. Following this, he received a threatening phone call from West, who allegedly warned him of severe physical harm, including death, if he continued to speak about the abuse claims. The plaintiff also claims he received ominous recordings and threats from individuals described as West’s “enforcers.”
This purported “campaign of threats, intimidation, and harassment” has taken a significant toll on the plaintiff’s mental health, leading him to seek treatment for PTSD stemming from his military service. His attorney, Ron Zambrano, expressed that West’s behavior is illegal and morally reprehensible, emphasizing that no employer should ever threaten their employees.
