Kanye West is being sued by a former employee who alleged he was severely injured and subsequently fired while working at the rapper's dilapidated Malibu beach house.
The lawsuit filed this month claims that the employee was the victim of disability discrimination, violations of multiple labor codes and wrongful retaliatory termination.
Tony Saxon alleged that he had been hired in September 2021 as a project manager who was responsible for overseeing construction at Ye's Malibu home after the rapper had it gutted for a complete renovation. He also worked as a live-in security guard and general caretaker of the property at the time.
The legal filing stated that Saxon was additionally asked to perform other jobs, including but not limited to demolition, hiring contractors to complete construction-related tasks and cleaning. However, throughout the job, Saxon was reportedly required to live and work in unsafe conditions, despite claiming that he made several complaints.
"Throughout the entirety of Plaintiff’s employment, Plaintiff was sleeping in makeshift conditions, finding empty spaces on the ground and using his coat as a makeshift bedding," the lawsuit alleged.
"Plaintiff made constant complaints to Defendant of various safety hazards including workers unsafely demolishing various parts of the house with no safety equipment," the court filing continued. "No action was taken by YE to address the complaints made by Plaintiff."
"Ye has shown a reckless disregard toward his employees and has flouted the law in unbelievably dangerous ways throughout this entire project at the Malibu house," Saxon's attorney, Ron Zambrano, said. "He continues his pattern of not paying his bills while treating workers terribly."
The lawsuit also alleged that Saxon was told he would be compensated $20,000 per week, but after one month, he had only received a single $20,000 payment for both his work as well as the $100,000 of construction costs.
Finally, on October 22, 2021, Saxon alleged that he told West he was "exhausted and overburdened with the amount of work" and needed a break, but was reportedly ignored. The following week, Saxon claims that he "severely injured" his back on the job and asked West for the time off that he needed in order to heal.
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Saxon reportedly repeated his requested on November 4, 2021, asking the rapper for accommodations for his injury, but according to the complaint, the 46-year-old only replied to discuss the next phase of the construction project.
The next day, West allegedly asked for all of the remaining windows and electricity be taken out of the home.
"Plaintiff expressed concerns about the extreme danger of such actions, as the project was not yet completed. Despite Plaintiff’s explanations, Defendant persisted, raising his voice, and insisting on moving large generators inside the house, which could potentially lead to a fire hazard," the legal papers read. "Defendant threatened Plaintiff, claiming he would be considered an enemy if he did not comply. Faced with such dangerous demands, Plaintiff chose not to put others and himself at risk and was subsequently told by Defendant to ‘get the h--- out.'"
"Plaintiff was terminated for not complying with Defendants’ dangerous requests. Specifically, when Plaintiff refused to engage in unlawful conduct or to engage in activity that would further cause him physical injury, Mr. Ye responded, ‘If you don’t do what I say, you’re not going to work for me, I’m not gonna be your friend anymore and you’ll just see me on TV,’" the court documents stated. "Plaintiff replied, ‘I don’t watch TV.’ Mr. Ye ended the exchange with ‘leave.’"
Saxon also alleges that he was illegally denied overtime and repeatedly received inaccurate pay stubs or no pay checks at all.
He is suing West for more than $1 million.
