The artist formerly known as Kanye West is looking to prevent his past antisemitic social media posts from being used as evidence in a discrimination trial later this year.
In court documents, first spotted by TMZ and reviewed by Complex, Ye argued that the posts have nothing to do with the trial. The filing also provided a 919-page report detailing the alleged posts that would be used, which 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.”
The posts at issue come not only from Ye, but also former Ye employees YesJulz and Milo Yiannopoulos, as well as other third-party and media accounts. Ye’s attorneys argue that the posts should not be included for, among other reasons, the fact that some cannot be authenticated, and that others were posted either before or after the plaintiff’s “alleged employment.”
Benjamin Provo, a former security guard at the now defunct Donda Academy, filed a lawsuit against Ye in 2024, accusing the rapper of discriminating against the school’s Black employees.
“Kanye and members of his management team subjected Provo and other black employees to less favorable treatment than their white counterparts,” the lawsuit claims. “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 alleges he was fired for refusing to cut his locs, which he kept in part because of his Muslim faith.
Provo was allegedly given an ultimatum from an associate of Ye, who told him, “Kanye said, ‘Tell the one with the dreads to shave his head or he is fired.’”
“Kanye and members of his management team required Provo to choose between these critical aspects of his self-identity and financial stability,” the complaint reads.
Provo also claimed white staff members at Donda Academy were paid $5 more per hour more than the Black employees, as reported by The Root.
His lawsuit was filed less than a month after another former Donda Academy employee Trevor Phillips, who is Black, filed a suit with similar allegations against Ye, claiming he “treated the Black staff considerably worse than white employees.”
