Kanye West has reportedly filed a $10 million lawsuit against Lloyd’s of London, an insurance company that is accused of failing to pay out several claims following the cancellation of the rapper's Saint Pablo Tour in 2016. The tour’s remaining shows were called off when the 40-year-old rapper was admitted to the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital Center after suffering a mental breakdown.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, West’s company Very Good Touring, Inc. filed a loss claim just two days after he was hospitalized. VGT purchased a policy with Lloyd’s to cover any “non-appearance or cancelation fees”; however, the lawsuit states the insurance company is trying to dodge payments by blaming West’s suspected marijuana use for his psychological health issues.
“Nor have they provided anything approaching a coherent explanation about why they have not paid, or any indication if they will ever pay or even make a coverage decision, implying that Kanye’s use of marijuana may provide them with a basis to deny the claim and retain the hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums paid by Very Good,” the complaint reads. “The stalling is emblematic of a broader modus operandi of the insurers of never-ending post-claim underwriting where the insurers hunt for some contrived excuse not to pay.”
As you probably recall, West canceled two dates in the first leg of his Saint Pablo Tour after his wife, Kim Kardashian, was robbed at gunpoint in Paris. The second leg didn’t last very long, as the rapper delivered a series of bizarre rants blasting everyone from Jay Z and Beyoncé to Hillary Clinton. Days later, he was under psychological evaluation.
The suit states Lloyd’s was provided sworn testimony from West’s doctor, who confirmed the rapper was not mentally stable enough to continue touring. Still, Lloyd’s wasn’t convinced.
“While Kanye was still under medical care for his disabling condition, the Defendant syndicates demanded that Kanye submit to an immediate IME (independent medical examination),” court documents read. “Kanye was made available for a purported IME by a doctor, hand-selected by the insurers’ counsel, who was predisposed to look for some reason to deny the claim. Yet even Defendants’ selected doctor had to admit that Kanye was disabled from being able to continue with the Tour. As demanded by the insurers, Kanye was also subsequently presented for an examination under oath (“EUO”), and at least eleven other persons affiliated with Kanye and Very Good were similarly presented for EUOs.”
The complaint also accuses Lloyd’s of leaking private information about West’s health condition to media outlets. Because of this, West and VGT are suing the company for breach of contract and breach of good faith.
