This has been the year of lawsuits for polarizing rapper Kanye West. Though he recently filed one of his own against a person illegally leaking his music, West is facing a long list of suits from Adidas, Gap, employees at his Donda Academy school, and more. And now, as of Wednesday (September 13), he has earned another one for how he handled the 2021 construction of his Malibu mansion.
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According to Rolling Stone, who obtained the suit today, West had hired a man named Tony Saxon to oversee renovations being made to his abode, which he purchased for north of $50 million in 2021. However, after Saxon was brought on the project in September 2021, he quickly realized how difficult it was to work with West.
Taking the reigns on the home improvement project from West’s wife and head architect for Yeezy Bianca Censori, Saxon said West would constantly change his mind about ideas for the house, which would lead to him exceeding the budget he gave Saxon for renovations. On top of this, West’s payments to Saxon, which were meant to be $20,000 per week, would either come late or not at all.
Once Saxon began to push back on West and his constantly changing plans in November 2021, the Chicago emcee fired him.
“He goes, ‘If you don’t do what I asked you to do, you’re a Clinton. You’re a Kardashian. You’re an enemy and I’m not going to be a friend anymore,'” Saxton recalled in the suit. “‘I’m not going to provide you with an opportunity anymore. You’re only going to see me on TV,’ I said to him, ‘I don’t watch TV’ and he said, ‘Get the fuck out.’ And that was it.’”
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In the suit, Saxon outlined some of the unfeasible demands West gave him, such as making the entire house “open concept,” removing windows, replacing electrical wiring with generators, installing slides and ramps, constructing a private WiFi system with alternative energy, and more.
At first, since he was basically at the construction site all day, Saxon said he and West built a close friendship. At one point, West even hinted at the idea that Saxon could elevate to important roles in the Yeezy company. However, when the job became too stressful and precarious, West showed no sympathy to Saxon, which led to a fallout. This further motivated Saxon to be more resistant to West’s suggestions, ultimately ending in his termination.
“It’s the same thing with him and every other ridiculous celebrity that goes over the top,” Saxon said in the suit. “They have stupid ideas and deep down, they know it’s ridiculous and dumb. They just think they have enough money where they could say, ‘Just do it.’ [West] is the worst with it because everybody tells him he’s a genius. Nobody tells him no. Nobody tells him, ‘Man, that’s never gonna work.’”
It’s currently unclear how much Saxon is seeking in damages in the suit, but it does note that he is suing West for “withholding payment, disability discrimination, retaliation and various labor code violations.”
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