Another legal L for Ye, once known as Kanye West. A Los Angeles judge has ordered the rapper to pay over $76,000 in attorney fees to a former employee who accused him of harassment during her time at Yeezy.
The employee, referred to as Jane Doe, first sued Ye in February. She claimed he sent inappropriate texts like “Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler” and told her to work on his bizarre “Yeezy Porn” concept. According to her lawsuit, she was later fired after reporting his behavior to her manager.
In response, Ye’s legal team filed a motion to strike the case, arguing it was an attack on his artistic free speech. The court didn’t buy it. Judge Theresa M. Traber previously denied the motion, calling it “rife with defects, specious arguments, and misstatements of law.”
This week, Judge Nicholas F. Daum followed up by awarding $76,245 in legal fees to the plaintiff, stating Ye’s free speech claim was a baseless delay tactic.
“We certainly do think there are very interesting First Amendment issues that could lead to additional appeals,” said Ye’s attorney Andrew Cherkasky. Still, the court ruled that appeals could continue separately from the fee order.
This isn’t Ye’s first legal scandal. In 2024, former assistant Lauren Pisciotta also accused him of sexual harassment and wrongful termination, alleging he refused to pay $3 million in severance.
