Controversial rapper Kanye West repeatedly shouted at black employees and praised Adolf Hitler as an “innovator,” according to a new lawsuit filed in California on Tuesday.
The creative minds behind the Yeezy brand, whose music and fashion ventures have made him fabulously wealthy, have repeatedly courted controversy in recent years with racist or anti-Semitic language and some bizarre historical distortions.
Now a former employee claims the author of the hit song “Stronger” told schoolchildren he was being persecuted by Jewish people.
Trevor Phillips, who represented West is Black and worked on two of West's projects for about a year, claims in a Los Angeles lawsuit that he suffered severe discrimination, harassment and retaliation from West, also known as Ye.
Phillips said West would “never berate a white person, but on countless occasions he has seen and/or personally witnessed Kanye frantically yelling at black people.”
Phillips was hired in November 2022 by Yeezy, the rapper's clothing brand, and immediately began working at Donda Academy, a Western school founded outside Los Angeles.
“Phillips witnessed, on several occasions, Kanye directing obscenities to his employees such as ‘the Jews want to get me’ and ‘the Jews are stealing all my money,’” the lawsuit states.
Clothing giants GAP and Adidas have parted ways with West after previous anti-Semitic comments.
The suit also alleges that West praised Hitler and called the Nazi leader “great” during a dinner at an upscale Los Angeles restaurant.
The suit claims West said: “Hitler was an innovator. He invented many things. He's the reason we have cars.”
A number of people are credited with developing the car, including Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler, but the Austrian-born dictator was not one of them.
Phillips also alleges in the lawsuit that the rapper once asked two kids at Donda Academy to shave their heads and threatened to lock them in cages.
“Kanye also told the employees… that no employee can be fat — otherwise he will fire them.”
Phillips, who stopped working at West Projects in August 2023, is seeking $35,000 in compensation.
His lawyer, Karni R. Shegerian, said the lawsuit aims to right the wrongs his client suffered and send a broader message.
“We hope…that the famous artist Mr. West will understand that his messages, which we claim call for discrimination, anti-Semitism and love of Hitler, have no place in the world.”
West, who split from business mogul Kim Kardashian in 2022 after a decade together, apologized to Jewish people on social media last year over past bouts of anti-Semitism.
The rapper spoke openly about his struggles with mental health, and called for Kardashian's understanding as he deals with issues.
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