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In a bombshell lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Kanye West and his former chief of staff, Milo Yiannopoulos, are facing allegations of unpaid wages, fostering a racist work environment, and subjecting employees to long work hours. The lawsuit also accuses West’s wife, Bianca Censori, of sending explicit videos to staff members, which were even accessible to minors.
According to TMZ, the lawsuit was filed by a group of former employees, claims that West created a hostile and racist work environment while they worked on an app to promote his music. The plaintiffs allege that the rapper and his team engaged in “forced labour and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,” making false promises of payment and forcing employees, including minors, to work excessively long hours.
The allegations stem from the spring of 2024, when Kanye launched the YZYVSN streaming service app to rival platforms like Tidal, Spotify, and Apple Music. To develop the app, West and Yiannopoulos allegedly hired an international group of developers, including Black members and underage teens as young as 14.
The lawsuit details how employees worked remotely, communicating with their team through digital platforms. In April 2024, Yiannopoulos allegedly promised to pay the developer group $120,000 upon completion of the app if they agreed to the stringent work conditions and refrained from complaining.
However, the situation quickly went down hill. The lawsuit claims that West ordered all employees to sign non-disclosure agreements, threatening to fire minors and withhold payment if they refused. The minors working on the team were reportedly required to sign “volunteer” agreements.
The plaintiffs allege that white managers overseeing the minority workers used racist language. Employees were reportedly called “slaves” and “new slaves” and were subjected to harassing language based on their age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and national origin.
One incident cited in the lawsuit involves Yiannopoulos allegedly sending a chat message with a Black/brown skin emoji to an African American team member and referring to a younger worker as a ‘school shooter’.
Employees were reportedly bullied into working long, unpaid hours, often through the night without sleep.
Meanwhile, Kanye’s wife, Bianca Censori has also been accused of sending a file-sharing link containing explicit videos to a staff member. These also included the minors on the team, who were not barred from viewing the ‘hard core’ explicit files as they developed the app.
However, Censori is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
On May 1, 2024, after rushing to complete the app, the team allegedly presented one of the finished pieces to West. The lawsuit claims that the team was, however, never paid, leading them to opt to take legal action.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages for unpaid wages and overtime pay, as well as compensation for emotional distress.
According to TMZ, the lawsuit was filed by a group of former employees, claims that West created a hostile and racist work environment while they worked on an app to promote his music. The plaintiffs allege that the rapper and his team engaged in “forced labour and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,” making false promises of payment and forcing employees, including minors, to work excessively long hours.
The allegations stem from the spring of 2024, when Kanye launched the YZYVSN streaming service app to rival platforms like Tidal, Spotify, and Apple Music. To develop the app, West and Yiannopoulos allegedly hired an international group of developers, including Black members and underage teens as young as 14.
The lawsuit details how employees worked remotely, communicating with their team through digital platforms. In April 2024, Yiannopoulos allegedly promised to pay the developer group $120,000 upon completion of the app if they agreed to the stringent work conditions and refrained from complaining.
However, the situation quickly went down hill. The lawsuit claims that West ordered all employees to sign non-disclosure agreements, threatening to fire minors and withhold payment if they refused. The minors working on the team were reportedly required to sign “volunteer” agreements.
The plaintiffs allege that white managers overseeing the minority workers used racist language. Employees were reportedly called “slaves” and “new slaves” and were subjected to harassing language based on their age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and national origin.
One incident cited in the lawsuit involves Yiannopoulos allegedly sending a chat message with a Black/brown skin emoji to an African American team member and referring to a younger worker as a ‘school shooter’.
Employees were reportedly bullied into working long, unpaid hours, often through the night without sleep.
Meanwhile, Kanye’s wife, Bianca Censori has also been accused of sending a file-sharing link containing explicit videos to a staff member. These also included the minors on the team, who were not barred from viewing the ‘hard core’ explicit files as they developed the app.
However, Censori is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
On May 1, 2024, after rushing to complete the app, the team allegedly presented one of the finished pieces to West. The lawsuit claims that the team was, however, never paid, leading them to opt to take legal action.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages for unpaid wages and overtime pay, as well as compensation for emotional distress.
