- Kanye West was hit with another lawsuit Tuesday related to his private Christian school, Donda Academy.
- Former Donda staff member Trevor Phillips claimed Ye repeatedly threatened staff and students.
- Phillips, who is seeking $35,000 in damages, also claims Ye often praised or compared himself to Hitler.
A former employee of Kanye West has accused the rap mogul of threatening staff and students at his private Christian school, Donda Academy, according to a new complaint filed Tuesday.
This is just the latest in a series of trials filed by former Donda staff members, whose allegations range from “absolutely egregious” and dangerous conditions on campus to inappropriate behavior and “illegal educational practices.”
Trevor Phillips, who worked for Ye at both his Yeezy fashion brand and the unaccredited school from November 2022 to August 2023, claims in the new 47-page complaint reviewed by Business Insider that in addition to creating a hostile work environment by threatening and sexually harassing staff, West also regularly praised and compared himself to Hitler during their working relationship.
Representatives for Donda Academy, Yeezy and an attorney for West did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Phillips was hired shortly after West’s business empire began to collapse following his repeated anti-Semitic comments on social media, in which he claimed he would run a “death scam” on the people Jewish.
But, despite publicly apologizing for the remarks, Phillips said West’s anti-Semitic comments and praise of Hitler continued, sometimes within earshot of students.
During one conversation, text messages included in the complaint purport to show that West, in response to a second request for information about seeds needed for the Donda Academy garden, said, “I’m on some stuff Hitler-level suits. Without the gas chambers. Name of Jesus.”
“Phillips repeatedly witnessed Kanye preaching obscenities to his team such as ‘the Jews are out to get me’ and ‘the Jews are stealing all my money,'” the complaint reads. “Out of fear for their jobs and also to defuse Kanye’s nonsense (so the two schoolchildren present wouldn’t hear it), the school staff did their best to ignore him.”
However, in front of the two schoolboys, the lawsuit says West continued his inflammatory rhetoric, with the “Life of Pablo” singer openly discussing how he “only likes to date white women.”
“Then, speaking to the two schoolboys, Kanye told them he wanted them to shave their heads and that he intended to put a prison at the school – and that they could be locked up in cages,” the complaint adds.
Although he was hired as West’s admirer, in the lawsuit Phillips claims his relationship with West deteriorated over the course of the year.
Phillips, a black man, alleged in the complaint that West routinely discriminated against black staff at the school — including Phillips himself — that West behaved erratically at work, misappropriated funds from school for a trip to Paris and whom the fashion designer often threatened to fire. employees only to change their minds later.
In one instance, during a dinner at the upscale sushi restaurant Nobu, Phillips alleged that West simulated masturbation and graphically described his sex life in the middle of what Phillips believed to be a business meeting regarding the program. horticulture in Donda.
“Hundreds of dollars worth of sushi were served, and as Kanye indulged in his food, he couldn’t help but indulge in his favorite topic: ‘Jews are greedy and they keep trying to take MY MONEY'”, we can read in the complaint. “In addition to other repeated attacks against Jews, Kanye then began threatening the LGBTQ community. ‘Yeah, I’m going after Gays! FIRST Jews, THEN Gays.'”
“Homosexuals are not real Christians,” West allegedly said in the complaint. “And gays are controlled by Bill Gates so they don’t have children to control the population.”
Shortly before leaving the school in August 2023, Phillips claimed in the suit that he was targeted by West in a particularly venomous tirade in front of staff, students and their families during an event at the Donda Academy. Phillips claims West repeatedly told him he was going to punch him in the face, although Phillips notes in the complaint that he was unsure of the cause of West’s outburst, which included yelling at repeatedly told Phillips in front of a crowd that he was “fucking fired.”
At this point, the complaint notes, Phillips broke down over the inhumane treatment meted out to Kanye that day, as well as months of harassment, racism, sexual harassment and exposure to anti-Semitic remarks.
“While Kanye considered himself a god or king, in reality he was a moody tyrant and despot who sought to mentally destroy and control those around him,” the complaint reads.
Phillips is seeking $35,000 in damages and an injunction to prevent West from owning and operating any type of educational school for children under 18 in California.
West has not yet publicly commented on Phillips’ claims, although he previously settled a separate lawsuit alleging he repeatedly made anti-Semitic remarks in his workplace.
“By filing this lawsuit, we hope that the rights of our aggrieved customers will be respected and that the famous artist Mr. West will understand that his messages – which we believe preach discrimination, anti-Semitism and Hitler love – have no place in the world.” Carney R. Shegerian, whose firm Shegerian & Associates represents Phillips, told Business Insider.
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