A former security guard who worked at Donda Academy in 2021 is hoping to block the artist formerly known as Kanye West from using an insanity defense in their ongoing legal battle.
As reported by TMZ, former Donda Academy employee Benjamin Provo, who filed a lawsuit against the rapper in 2024, filed a motion requesting the judge in the case to block Ye from claiming he was of “unsound mind” at the time of the alleged discrimination. Provo has accused Ye of pulling an insanity defense before the case has even made it to trial, and added that he’s yet to provide any testimony.
He also said that Ye hasn’t handed over any medical records or recruited a medical professional to testify about his mental health, despite being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016. Provo alleged that Ye “repeatedly indicated that he had been of sound mind during the events underlying the case” during his deposition. In the deposition, he also said that Ye was asked if he felt he was “not himself” during the time of Donda Academy, and he replied, “No, I think that was close to me being myself, but people change, though, too.”
He admitted that he liked his employees, including Provo, to have a uniform-type look to what they wore at work, but denied he fired Provo for having dreadlocks.
Recently, Ye’s attorneys filed a motion to prevent his antisemitic social media posts from being used as evidence in the discrimination lawsuit.
Ye argued that the posts do not have anything to do with the trial, and the filing also included a 919-page report showing posts that could be used. The document included an Instagram photo of a Nazi robe, with the caption “Outfit of the day,” and X posts that read, “I’m a Nazi,” “I love Hitler. Now what bitches,” and “I used to fuck employees in my office.”
