Kanye West sued by former employees he allegedly called ‘new slaves’

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Kanye West is being sued by a group of former employees, who accuse him and former chief of staff Milo Yiannopoulos of “fostering a racist environment” and forcing employees to work “incredibly long hours.”

According to TMZ, The file was made by developers hired to work on West’s YZYVSN streaming service app, which he wanted to use to promote his new albums, “Vultures” and “Vultures 2.”

They were allegedly promised a $120,000 salary if they “completed the application.”

However, they were forced to sign confidentiality agreements or risk losing their jobs and not being paid. At the same time, some underage employees were forced to sign “volunteer” agreements, stipulating that they would not be paid for their work.

Developers worked on the app mostly remotely, staying in touch via Slack and other tools as they tried to meet a May 1, 2024 deadline to complete the app.

When they asked about their salaries, neither West nor Yiannopoulos reportedly responded to their inquiries. This led to the trial.

The former employees are seeking full payment of their unpaid wages and overtime compensation. They are also seeking damages for the emotional distress they allegedly suffered.

In the documents, the developers claimed to have been openly “tackled with racist language.” They also alleged that some of their colleagues were called “slaves” and “new slaves” during interactions.

West’s wife, Bianca Censori, allegedly sent “an employee a file-sharing link containing hardcore sexual activity” that was to be used in the development of West’s pornographic app.

The lawsuit comes several weeks after Yiannopoulos resigned from Yeezy over West’s porn studio project.

West has not commented publicly on the lawsuit. Deadline has contacted its representatives.