Originally appeared on E! Online
Kanye West is facing another legal battle.
This time, from an alleged former employee who is accusing the rap artist of tasking him with launching an inquiry of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian's family.
In a retaliation lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles court Oct. 10 and obtained by E! News, the plaintiff — identified as John Joe — states that while working as the rapper's "director of intelligence," his duties included "investigating the Kardashian family and supposed various criminal links Ye believed they had with criminal enterprises, including alleged sex trafficking."
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
E! News has reached out for comment from reps for West and the Kardashian-Jenner family and has not heard back.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff, who is identified as John Doe, states that the rap artist hired him in late 2022 and that he was made to conduct investigations, "including those involving attorneys and parties that have filed suit" against West.
"Doe" alleges that in addition to being tasked to investigate the Kardashian-Jenners, the music producer also had him "hire private investigators to follow and 'tail' his current wife, Bianca Censori, when she was travelling alone to visit family in Australia, without Ms. Censori’s knowledge."
Entertainment News
West has been married to Censori since December 2022. The two wed less than two months after he finalized his divorce from Kardashian, with whom he shares kids North West, 11, Saint West, 8, Chicago West, 6, and Psalm West, 5.
"Doe" also alleges in his lawsuit that this past May, he received a call from an employee of Donda Academy — a private school West founded in 2021 and which closed in June, according to public records — informing him that "abuse of children had occurred at Donda and that supposedly nothing was done to correct or report the problem."
The man said he "immediately informed the remaining Yeezy leadership of the report about the Donda student(s)," and that later that day, West himself called him "to yell, curse and threaten" him with "great bodily injury, including death," if he repeated the information.
"Doe" alleges that the rapper told him, "You’re f------ dead to me!" and also played a "recording of scary voices that were threatening to harm" him. He added that in the next few days and weeks, he also received threats from West's associates, which "exacerbated the PTSD" he suffers as a military veteran.
"Doe" states in his lawsuit that as a result of his "lawful reports of violations of law" and "his refusal to engage in unethical activities," West retaliated against him "through a campaign of threats, intimidation, and harassment," which caused him "severe emotional distress and exacerbated his PTSD" that he suffers from as a military veteran, "resulting in both emotional and financial harm."
The plaintiff adds that he is still owed wages for work done on West's behalf. He is seeking punitive and other damages relating to loss of earnings and a jury trial.
