Once again Kanye West has found himself on the wrong side of a discrimination lawsuit brought forth by a former employee.
According to court documents obtained by Page Six, a Black ex-employee named Benjamin Deshon Provo filed suit against the “Father Stretch My Hands” rapper in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, April 26 and alleged that he suffered “severe emotional distress” at the hands of West, who allegedly would routinely ridicule and verbally abuse his Black employees and treat them more harshly than their non-Black counterparts.
“Kanye and members of his management team subjected Provo and other Black employees to less favorable treatment than their White counterparts,” the lawsuit partly reads. “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 also claims that in addition to banning books about prominent Black leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, West also would harass Black employees who wore locs and eventually tried to force Provo, who wore locs in relation to his Muslim faith, to cut his hair or face termination.
“Kanye and members of his management team required Provo to choose between these critical aspects of his self-identity and financial stability,” reads the complaint. “Indeed, at the direction of Kanye, Provo was given the ultimatum, cut his hair, or be fired.”
Earlier this month, another former employee named Trevor Phillips filed suit against West for discrimination, harassment, and creating a hostile work environment.
The lawsuit by Phillips accuses West of erratic behaviors such as “spontaneous firings, a late-night summons to Nobu, watching The Batman on mute, and awkwardly navigating Ye pretending to masturbate.” Phillips also claims the 46-year-old mogul regularly “bullied” his Black employees and would talk about his porn addiction frequently. West is also alleged to have tried installing “a jail at his school to ‘cage’ students,” and threatening violence during frequent “temper tantrums.”
“By filing this lawsuit, we hope our injured clients’ rights are vindicated, and that the famous artist Mr. West understands that his messages — which we alleged preach discrimination, antisemitism and Hitler-love — have no place in the world,” Phillips’ attorney said via statement.
West is currently prepping to release Vultures 2, his latest collaborative album with Ty Dolla $ign on May 3.
