Kanye West responds to ex-assistant's 'baseless allegations'

Embattled rapper Ye, formerly Kanye West, whose Donda Academy was sued in April for workplace abuse, is facing a series of disturbing new allegations. This time the lawsuit comes from a woman claiming she was his personal assistant.

Instagram and OnlyFans model Lauren Pisciotta said she worked for the “Famous” rap star, 46, from July 2021 to October 2022. She alleges she was subjected to multiple forms of sexual harassment and defrauded of money. $4 “promised”. million dollars in salary for his work on various Yeezy brands, according to legal documents reviewed by the Times.

The suit, filed Monday by Pisciotta's attorney in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accuses his companies of wrongful termination, sex discrimination, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional and physical stress, among other things. mistakes.

A legal representative for West told the Times in a statement that the rapper intends to file a counterclaim against Pisciotta for his “baseless allegations.” The representative also accused Pisciotta of coercion, blackmail and extortion.

Pisciotta's attorney did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment.

The complaint describes Pisciotta, 35, as a music industry veteran with more than 15 years of experience in management, A&R and marketing. Before accepting a $1 million annual salary to become Ye's full-time personal assistant in July 2021, she worked with the rapper on his Yeezy clothing line and his 2021 album “Donda.”

Pisciotta's lawsuit accuses Ye of “masturbating in front of plaintiff” and “excessively sharing intimate sexual details, photos and videos of sexual acts,” some of which allegedly involved Instagram models and “current and Yeezy, LLC alumni and various men and women. .” In November 2022, a Rolling Stone report detailed similar allegations that the Grammy winner had “played pornography to Yeezy staff during meetings.”

The 25-page complaint details several alleged instances of “illegal non-consensual, offensive, unwanted, unsolicited and unwelcome acts” by Ye, including explicit text exchanges in which he discussed sexual fantasies and requested Pisciotta to obtain and transport sexually enhancing drugs for his convenience. In one alleged exchange, Ye messaged Pisciotta asking if his genitals were “racist.”

“This fucking racist of mine…needs to be beaten until he can no longer be racist,” one text from Ye read, the lawsuit says. “It’s not good brother after 400 years.”

Several pages of the lawsuit also detail sexual memes, photos of nude models, videos of women performing oral sex on Ye and videos of his sexual encounters that the rapper allegedly sent to Pisciotta. The Instagram model also alleges that Ye propositioned her for sex multiple times during her tenure (she denied his advances), that she would “masturbate” during phone conversations she thought were work calls and that she she was “particularly obsessed with the penis size” of her current and past romantic. the partners.

The suit says Pisciotta did not “welcome or encourage” Ye's “offensive, humiliating, embarrassing and abusive behavior” and focused on performing her duties as a personal assistant in a manner “as professional as as possible “.

The final part of Pisciotta's lawsuit alleges that employees of Ye's Yeezy brands — listed as co-defendants — “engaged in a systematic, serious, persuasive and offensive campaign of unlawful harassment based on (Pisciotta's) gender, including including sexual harassment.

More than a year after starting as West's personal assistant, in September 2022, Pisciotta was offered a promotion to Yeezy's chief of staff, according to the lawsuit. This title change also came with the promise of a $3 million raise, which would bring Pisciotta's total annual salary to $4 million. After accepting the offer, Pisciotta was informed in October 2022 that she would receive the $3 million raise as a lump sum, but “defendant, however, did not pay…as promised” after several recovery attempts, she says. In late October, West and his companies fired Pisciotta — a reason was not revealed in the lawsuit — and he was offered a $3 million severance package. Then, they would have “reneged on their commitment to pay severance pay”.

After parting ways with the Yeezy brands, Pisciotta said West's “obsession” with her continued, and she alleged he moved into the apartment building where she lived. Shortly after her termination, Pisciotta returned to West and her businesses to provide “additional services,” again with the prospect of being paid, but allegedly never received payment.

“As a result of Defendant’s violation of the Agreements, Plaintiff suffered damages in the amount of at least $4,000,000,” the lawsuit states.

Pisciotta alleges that as a result of West and his company's retaliation, she “suffered and continues to suffer damages” in the form of lost wages and benefits and emotional and physical distress. The lawsuit says Pisciotta filed a complaint last week with the California Department of Civil Rights, accusing the Yeezy brands of “discrimination, harassment, retaliation” and other employment violations. She is seeking an unspecified amount in damages, legal fees and “any other additional relief that the court deems appropriate.”

The statement from West's legal representative also accused Pisciotta of stealing the rapper's phone to “destroy phone records” in order to assert her claims and said she was fired for “not being qualified, demanding unreasonable sums of money (including an annual salary of $4 million) and numerous documented incidents of his lascivious and disjointed conduct.

The rapper also accused Pisciotta of sending Ye “unsolicited nude images” as sexual coercion to demand material items, including a luxury bag and a Lamborghini.

“Such behavior is completely inconsistent with someone claiming to have been sexually harassed or experienced a hostile work environment,” the statement continued. “It is evident that Ms. Pisciotta leveraged her association with Ye and his business, as well as her proximity to him, to seek material gain, influence and employment through improper means.”

The statement added: “Her first attempt to sue for illegal dismissal received no media attention, leading her to fabricate headlines following threats of blackmail and extortion. »

Ye's latest legal troubles come after he quickly fell out of public favor in late 2022 due to his anti-Semitic rants. Amid his controversial tirades, several companies, including CAA, Gap and Adidas, cut ties with the rapper.