Kanye West Sued For Discriminating Against Black Employees
A fresh lawsuit has been filed against Kanye West by a former employee, accusing the controversial rapper of engaging in discriminatory practices against Black employees within his team.
According to court documents obtained by Page Six and submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday (April 26), Benjamin Deshon Provo, a former security guard at the Donda Academy, claims to have experienced significant emotional distress due to West’s conduct.
“Kanye and members of his management team subjected Provo and other black employees to less favourable treatment than their white counterparts,” read the lawsuit, in part.
“Specifically, Kanye frequently screamed at and berated black employees, while in contrast, he never so much as raised his tone of voice toward white staff.”
Provo also alleged that West would ridicule his Black employees for wearing locs, even though Provo mentioned he did so because it was part of his Muslim faith.
“Kanye and members of his management team required Provo to choose between these critical aspects of his self-identity and financial stability,” the complaint continued. “Indeed, at the direction of Kanye, Provo was given the ultimatum, cut his hair, or be fired.”
Provo claimed that Kanye West not only made him cut his hair against his will, but also accused him of planning to ban books written by influential Black leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Provo did not specify a monetary amount for damages in his legal complaint.
