Kanye West’s former assistant is suing him for sexual harassment. An overview of the numerous lawsuits pending against him.

Kanye West’s legal problems are piling up like Yeezy sneakers in an Adidas warehouse.

On June 3, the rapper and designer’s former assistant sued him for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Lauren Pisciotta, who worked for West for two years, claims he sent her sexually explicit text messages and behaved inappropriately during her time with him.

West has not yet commented publicly on the allegations.

🚨What just happened?

According to documents obtained by The Blast, Pisciotta worked in various positions in the music industry for 15 years. West hired her as a creative collaborator on his women’s clothing line Yeezy Season 1 (which came out in 2015) and she worked on his 2021 album Donda.

In July 2021, she was hired to “act as (Yes’) executive assistant/personal assistant in connection with the company’s business affairs.” She said they agreed on a salary of $1 million a year, but she would have to be available “24/7.”

In the year before she joined West full-time, Pisciotta said she earned $1 million creating content for OnlyFans and social media posts. At first, West was OK with it continuing — he described Pisciotta to people as an “OnlyFans superstar” — but in August 2022, he changed his mind. She claimed he asked her to be “godlike” and delete the OnlyFans account. He would pay her $1 million, she claimed, and she agreed.

Pisciotta claimed he never paid her and began sexually harassing her. She claimed he sent her messages of a sexual nature and masturbated during phone conversations with her. She claimed he texted her pornographic videos of himself.

According to Rolling Stone, Pisciotta also claimed that West called her into a room on a plane en route to Paris, closed a door that could not be opened from the inside, and then masturbated under the covers in a bed.

Pisciotta said she was promoted to chief of staff for West’s various businesses in September 2022 and was promised a $3 million bonus. The following month, she was offered a $3 million severance package. She said she never received the money.

In her lawsuit, she claimed that West was “obsessed” with her, had at one point moved into the building where she lived, and had “stalked” her after she was “wrongfully fired.”

She “neither welcomed nor encouraged” these offensive actions, texts, videos and statements, the lawsuit states.

Pisciotta is demanding at least $4 million in compensation, citing breach of contract and a hostile work environment.

⚖️ West’s explosive increase in legal problems

West’s legal team has been working overtime for the past two years. His anti-Semitic breakdown in 2022 led to huge financial consequences, including the closure of his school, Donda Academy, and the termination of fashion partnerships with Adidas. It has resulted in several lawsuits:

April 2024: Benjamin Deshon Pravo, who worked as a security guard at Donda Academy, sued him for racial discrimination, claiming that West favored his white employees over black ones. Pravo also claimed that Ye fired him after he refused to cut off his dreadlocks.

That same month, Trevor Phillips, who worked at Donda Academy and for Yeezy, filed suit against West, claiming he engaged in discriminatory and anti-Semitic behavior. He claimed the rapper compared himself to Hitler and created a hostile work environment. Phillips said West wanted to shave students’ heads and lock them in cages.

February 2024: West claimed Adidas was suing him for $250 million. Although that lawsuit apparently was never filed, West may have meant that the former Yeezy maker had entered private arbitration against his Yeezy LLC. The company said West’s “racist, anti-Semitic and other offensive public statements and behavior” violated the partnership agreement and harmed the brand.

September 2023: Tony Saxon, who worked as a caretaker, security guard and project manager at West’s multimillion-dollar beachfront mansion in Malibu, California, sued him for $1 million, claiming he was forced to work in dangerous conditions while the property was being converted into a 1910s-style bomb shelter and was not paid the wages he was promised. Saxon claimed he was forced to sleep on the property’s floor and use a coat as bedding, injuring his back in the process.

June 2023: Paparazzo Nichol Lechmanik sued West for allegedly throwing her phone into the street. She claimed she filmed him arguing with another photographer. He noticed her in her car and confronted her before snatching the phone from her hand. Lechmanik is suing for assault, negligence and violation of her civil rights.

May 2023: Gap Inc. sued West for $2 million over the dissolution of their partnership. He dropped the deal in 2022, claiming Gap had reneged on its agreement to sell his products in stores and open Yeezy Gap stores.

April 2023: Teachers Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers filed suit claiming Donda Academy failed to acknowledge their complaints after finding “multiple health and safety violations and unlawful instructional practices.” They said the school failed to comply with California regulations for students requiring classroom work, additional testing or individualized learning plans. They said there was no bullying prevention, janitorial services and medical care and the school failed to meet lunch nutrition guidelines. A third teacher, Timanii Meeks, later joined the suit.