Kanye West has been sued for discrimination by a former Yeezy employee, and accused of texting “Hail Hitler” to a Jewish staff member.
The woman who filed the lawsuit worked as a marketing specialist at West’s fashion brand, according to documents obtained by TMZ. She claimed that she was fired from her role after standing up to the rapper’s anti-Semitic rhetoric in the workplace.
In the suit, the former employee alleged that Ye had reached out to her and another Jewish staffer in a group chat and wrote: “Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler.”
Additionally, she claimed that West sent her a text message reading: “I Am A NAZI”. This allegedly came after she suggest the artist share a statement denying any ties to Nazism following backlash to mentions of anti-Semitism on ‘Vultures 1’, and the album’s cover artwork. “And I’m still crazy, bipolar, anti-Semite/ And I’m still the king,” he rapped at a listening party.
West also allegedly told the woman to “cut the bullshit” and “fuck out of here” in one conversation. She claimed he called her a “heartless sociopath” too, and told her to “shut the fuck up, bitch”.
Other things Ye allegedly texted her include “Hail Hitler”, “You Ugly as Fuck,” “You stupid ass corny bitch”, “You Piece of Shit” and “Fuck You Bitch”. Another message is said to have read “You what’s left after I said deathcon” – a reference to West’s 2022 Twitter post, in which he threatened to go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE”.
She claimed that she reported Ye’s behaviour to a manager, but was allegedly fired shortly afterwards. In a separate text, West allegedly dared the woman to “sue me you corny ass bitch”. Now, she is seeking damages for emotional distress and humiliation.
In a statement, the woman’s lawyer Carney Shegerian claimed that “Ye waged a relentless and deliberate campaign of anti-Semitism and misogyny against [her]”.
It continued: “His appalling treatment of women and fixation on Nazism, evident in abusive texts where he repeatedly calls himself Hitler, expose his motives. We need to stop excusing Ye’s behaviour. As a father, husband, and employer, he must be held accountable. Ye dared my client to sue, and we will see him in court.”
West has not yet responded to the lawsuit, at the time of writing.
West has shared a series of anti-Semitic tweets this month, saying that he “loves Hitler” and declaring himself to be “a Nazi”. The rapper’s outbursts also saw him withdraw his apology to the Jewish community for past anti-Semitic comments.
His X/Twitter account has since been deactivated following the bizarre and highly controversial rants. He has also been dropped by his talent agency. Various figures from the entertainment world have hit out at Ye, including David Schwimmer and Charlie Puth. Elsewhere, his collaborator Ty Dolla $ign said he did “not condone ANY form of hate speech”, but stopped short of addressing West directly.
Meanwhile, Shopify has said that West’s Yeezy website was removed due to the potential for fraud – not because it was selling a Swastika T-shirt. The company did denounce the product, however, calling it “vile, disgusting and inexcusable”.
According to a source (via The Logic), numerous Jewish employees at Shopify felt uncomfortable and unsafe that the firm had kept the store online for so long, with the T-shirt being available to buy. This is said to have been raised by one staff member on the company’s Slack channel.
The white tee displayed a large black swastika on the chest, and was listed as “HH-01” – a possible reference to the “Heil Hitler” chant that would accompany Nazi gestures. It was priced at $20.
Last November, a lawsuit filed by one of West’s former employees alleged that the rapper was openly anti-Semitic in front of his staff. It detailed allegations of Ye spouting “anti-Semitic tirades” around his employees, which was said to be a “daily occurrence”.
Following his initial anti-Semitic remarks that arose in 2022, West lost brand deals with Balenciaga, Adidas and Gap, and had his honorary degree from The School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago rescinded. Adidas later donated the proceeds from remaining stocks of West’s Yeezy shoes to organisations fighting anti-Semitism.
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