Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, responded to the lawsuit filed against him by his former construction consultant in September 2023 over precarious working and sleeping conditions, Radar Online reported.
The plaintiff, Tony Saxon, accused the Graduation creator of violating labor codes, discrimination and retaliation — all of what he and his workers allegedly experienced since the rapper recruited him to renovate his Malibu home in September 2021. Ye also failed to pay him.
Saxon is suing for $1 million in damages for the alleged discrimination and unpaid wages.
Ye hired Saxon in September 2021 as a project manager, where he supervised the employed contractors, their 16-hour labor, the coordination of the workers and had to supply 24/7 security.
According to the ex-contractor, Ye wanted an “open concept but off-the-grid” approach to the house and asked Saxon to put in a bomb shelter/bunker to hide from “Kardashians and Clintons.” The “Stronger” hitmaker also didn’t want electricity, plumbing, windows or stairs.
Ye reportedly failed to provide Saxon with a comfortable place to sleep, resulting in the retired contractor sleeping in “makeshift conditions.”
“Throughout the entirety of [Saxon’s] employment, [Saxon] was…finding empty spaces on the ground and using his coat as a makeshift bedding,” the lawsuit read. “These sleeping arrangements were near open insulation. [Saxon] did not have access to a proper bed or comfortable sleeping environment.”
Saxon, a musician, claimed his workers were subjected to hazardous work conditions due to the lack of safety equipment. He and his workers had to demolish parts of the pad perilously.
The axed contractor included in the lawsuit that Ye was supposed to pay him around $20,000 weekly, but that hadn’t happened.
Saxon tried to convey his concerns to Ye but said the rapper was challenging to communicate with.
“Defendant exhibited a consistent pattern of being unresponsive and difficult to communicate with. Defendant’s preference for shorter text messages, bullet points, or PDFs made it challenging for plaintiff to effectively address and elaborate on numerous key specifics related to the project.”
Even after communicating to Ye’s accountant that he developed anxiety and stress due to the rapper’s working conditions, no changes were made. He explained the challenges of the living conditions at the home, but no one did anything to make accommodations at least bearable.
In a Facebook post, Saxon claimed Ye fired all of his security for the house, causing Saxon to experience an incessant onslaught of paparazzi, drones and live streamers.
He said Ye was apathetic to his back injury after he requested time to heal.
“Defendant continued to insist on having updates on the house,” the lawsuit read.
Saxon’s safety concerns grew after Ye announced in a team meeting that he wanted all the windows and electricity removed from the home and large generators inside the house despite the house being unfinished, which posed a fire hazard.
Saxon alleged that after he refused to comply with Ye’s dangerous commands, he threatened him.
“He goes, ‘If you don’t do what I asked you to do, you’re a Clinton. You’re a Kardashian. You’re the enemy, and I’m not going to be a friend anymore. I’m not going to provide you with an opportunity anymore. You’re only going to see me on TV,'” Saxon told Rolling Stone. “I said to him, ‘I don’t watch TV,’ and he said, ‘Get the fuck out.’ And that was it.”
Ultimately, Ye terminated Saxon.
According to the court documents the outlet obtained, Ye didn’t deny doing what Saxon accused him of but claimed the allegations weren’t of wrongdoing and called them justified.
Ye denied that Saxon endured any damages from his actions and stated he paid Saxon properly.
The 46-year-old rapper requested the court to drop the lawsuit and force Saxon to pay his lawyer fees.
