Kanye West sued for Hitler-related comments to an employee

LOS ANGELES (CN) — An unnamed Jewish woman sued Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West on Tuesday for what she calls “a calculated campaign to threaten and psychologically torment Jewish people around him.”

The plaintiff, named in the civil complaint as Jane Doe, says she worked as a marketing specialist for West, who has legally changed his name to Ye. He hired her in December 2023, she says, shortly after having been convicted to issue a public apology for antisemitic remarks. Nonetheless, Doe says in her complaint, Ye didn’t bother hiding his affinity for a certain 20th-century German political party.

“I Am A Nazi,” he texted one of Doe’s coworkers after Doe suggested that Ye condemn Nazism.

Later in her tenure, Ye texted her: “Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler.” In later text messages, Ye also said: “Hail Hitler,” “You Ugly as Fuck," “You stupid ass corny bitch,” “You Piece of Shit,” “Fuck You Bitch,” and “Now sue me you corny ass bitch.”

“Ye waged a relentless and deliberate campaign of antisemitism and misogyny against my client,” said Doe’s attorney, Carney Shegerian of Shegerian & Associates, in a written statement. “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 behavior.”

Ye, once among the most famous and successful recording artists and fashion moguls in the world, has become far more well known for his toxic comments about women and Jews, to speak nothing of his odd fixation on the Nazi party. Some chalk his erratic behavior up to a diagnosis with bipolar disorder. Others say that that is merely an excuse for wanton bigotry.

Doe’s lawsuit comes less than 48 hours after Ye’s most recent Nazi-related controversy. Ye had purchased an expensive time slot to air a commercial during the Super Bowl, which he used to air an amateurish iPhone-filmed video of what appeared to be him in a dentist’s chair. The ad, which didn’t air nationally — it appeared in Los Angeles and possibly elsewhere — directed viewers to his website, yeezy.com, on which he sells clothes. On Sunday, there was only one item for sale on the website: a plain white T-shirt with a simple black swastika, selling for $20. The site has since been taken down.

That was only two days after Ye went on a bizarre but all-too-familiar rant on the social media platform X, in which he retracted his 2023 apology for making antisemitic comments and reiterated his feelings about the Jewish people, declaring, among other things: “I LOVE HITLER NOW WHAT* BITCHES,"* “IM A NAZI,” “Hitler was sooooo fresh,” and “I’m going to normalize talking about Hitler they way talking about killing niggas has been normalized.”

In her complaint, Doe says she was first hired by Ye’s company in December 2023. Her employment, she says, was a turbulent one. She was given a promotion and raise in February; a month and a half later, she was fired, then rehired a week later at double the annual salary — a handsome $240,000 per year. She was told this was a common occurrence and was advised to “get used to it.” Later, she says, she was directed to work on a new venture: “Yeezy porn.”

She says she refused the assignment. At one point, she says in her complaint, she complained to her supervisor about Ye’s abusive behavior. He replied: “Copy.” Ye responded with a torrent of invective, calling Doe a “heartless sociopath,” comparing her to an “Only Fans” model," and telling her “Your clothes are trash” and “Hail Hitler” before finally daring her to sue. Shortly thereafter, she was fired — again.

Her complaint charges Ye with 12 causes of action, including wrongful termination, discrimination, hostile work environment, and breach of oral contract. It demands more than $35,000.

Ye has been sued by at least half a dozen other former employees for various forms of discrimination, retaliation and breaches of contract. Trevor Phillips — who worked for Ye’s short-lived private school, Donda Academy, as well as Ye’s fashion brand — sued the rapper for, among other things, spewing a litany of “antisemitic tropes and lies” and praising Hitler. According to the suit, West once said: “HITLER WAS GREAT. Hitler was an innovator! He invented so many things. He’s the reason we have cars.”

Last year, Lauren Pisciotta, one of Ye’s former assistants, sued the recording artist for sexual harassment and sexual battery, accusing him of drugging and sexually assaulting her at a recording session with Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is himself now in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Ye’s attorney did not return an email requesting a comment on the most recent lawsuit.

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