Kanye West is facing a court battle over his Malibu mansion project, as his former employee seeks $1 million (£740,000) in unpaid wages.
Jury selection on the case kicked off yesterday.
The lawsuit, first filed in September 2023, claims the Grammy-winner subjected former employee Tony Saxon to unsafe and hazardous working conditions, disability discrimination, unpaid wages and reimbursements and wrongful retaliatory termination.
West, who now goes by Ye, purchased the beachfront Malibu home in 2021, hiring Saxon as project manager for the extensive renovation, according to the initial complaint obtained by People magazine.
Saxon was allegedly hired to also act as “full-time security” and a “live-in caretaker” for the property at a pay rate of $20,000 (£14,820) a week.
Saxon claims he only ever received one of those payments. Additionally, he alleges he was forced to sleep in “makeshift conditions” on the property, and that West ignored his complaints.
“He wanted to have a bomb shelter / bunker in the basement to hide from ‘Clintons and Kardashians’, all while living on a public beach, and have his house have no electricity, no windows, no plumbing, and no stairs!” Saxon posted to Instagram last year.
“Also messed my neck and back up for life, and he knows it.”
Around the beginning of November 2021, Saxon claims he “injured his back severely” and requested time off to rest, but West allegedly demanded progress on the house continue.
Saxon was then allegedly terminated for not complying with the “dangerous requests” made by West.
According to a press release published on behalf of his law firm, Saxon claims he is owed more than $1 million (£740,000) in unpaid wages and loss of earnings. According to the complaint, he is also seeking compensation for medical expenses and emotional distress.
