Kanye West Sued by Ex-Assistant for Sexual Harassment, Wrongful Termination, Hostile Work Environment

Photo Credit: Kanye West for Cosmopolitan UK / CC by 3.0

The rapper formerly known as Kanye West is being sued for sexual harassment and wrongful termination by a woman who worked as his assistant.Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, is being sued by a former assistant for sexual harassment, breach of contract, and wrongful termination. This is now the third lawsuit the disgraced rapper has faced this year. In April, he was accused of racial discrimination by another former employee, and in February, he was sued by the estate of Donna Summer for the unauthorized use of her song “I Feel Love.”

Lauren Pisciotta, who worked as West’s assistant from 2021 to 2022, alleges in her lawsuit that the rapper sexually harassed her, sending her lewd text messages and masturbating while talking to her on the phone. Pisciotta claims she was fired in 2022, but was never paid a $3 million severance package she was allegedly owed.

According to the lawsuit, Pisciotta says she was primarily supporting herself with an OnlyFans account in 2021 when she first met West, who hired her to help work on his fashion line. The suit says she also ended up collaborating on three songs included on West’s Donda album.In 2022, Pisciotta says West offered her a $1 million a year salary to stop using her OnlyFans account, to which she agreed. Afterward, West began sending her sexually explicit text messages, which quickly escalated to him masturbating while talking to her on the phone and sending her pornographic videos he made with other women. She also claims that on one occasion, West pleasured himself in front of her after “trapping” her in a private room on his plane.

Eventually, Pisciotta says she was promoted to West’s “chief of staff,” and her salary increased to $4 million a year, before she was abruptly fired in late 2022. She claims West offered her a severance package of $3 million, but this was never paid.

Pisciotta is suing West for breach of contract, wrongful termination, and sexual harassment, as well as his Yeezy business for fraud, unpaid wages, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking coverage of her legal fees, compensatory and punitive damages, penalties to be applied under relevant labor laws, and any other damages deemed appropriate by the court.West has not yet responded to the allegations.

As one of the most successful rappers of the last 20 years, Kanye has seen a stark turnaround in his career after he went on an antisemitic tirade on social media, leading to the termination of his lucrative contract with Adidas in November 2022.