Kanye West has become a lawsuit magnet in 2023. Along with suits from former business partners like Gap and Adidas, as well as one from a paparazzo whose phone he destroyed, West is now facing his second suit in connection to his California school Donda Academy. Just three months after multiple teachers who were fired from Donda came together to sue the rapper, a second lawsuit emerged this week.
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On Thursday (July 6), Billboard obtained a suit brought forward by Isaiah Meadows, who taught at Donda Academy and was an assistant principal at West’s other learning institution Yeezy Christian Academy. The primary allegation made in Meadows’ suit is that the staff and students were “exposed to the elements” because of West’s dislike of glass windows.
In the suit, Meadows states that while the rooms of the Donda Academy building had slots for windows, West did not allow any to be placed, instead opting for empty “skylights,” which let in rain and other debris.
“In the middle of the main classroom, a skylight was left without glass inevitably allowing rain to fall directly inside, where water would soak into the floor, which would lead to a moldy smell for the next few days,” the suit reads. “The skylight was intentionally without glass because West expressed that he did not like glass.”
Additionally, Meadows and his attorney Ron Zambrano asserted that “serious wiring” and plumbing issues were a huge cause of concern at the school. Meadows recalled two different instances where an electrical fire occurred near the students’ eating area because a wire was exposed, and where the septic tank in the building overflowed leading to a “terrible smell.”
Overall, the suit claims West and Donda Academy breached their contract with their employees and violated several California labor laws, including wage rules, wrongful termination, and improper classification. Accompanying the suit, Zambrano, who also represents the teachers who filed Donda’s first lawsuit, issued a statement.
“The unlawful and retaliatory behavior by Mr. West and the school directors have now been documented multiple times by other former employees who never even worked together but all experienced the same horrendous treatment and witnessed the same serious health, safety and education code violations, while all were subjected to the same fate,” he wrote.
There have been few updates regarding the first lawsuit, brought forth by teachers Cecilia Hailey, Timanii Meeks, and Chekarey Byers. In their case, they outlined late payments, health and safety violations, how students and teachers were only allowed to eat sushi, lack of sufficient curriculum, abuse and fighting among students, and discriminatory firings.
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