Kanye West Told Staffer Kim Kardashian ‘Has Jewish Masters’: Lawsuit
Kanye West allegedly turned a Yeezy staffer’s job into a living “nightmare” by subjecting the man to antisemitic tirades – often involving attacks on Kim Kardashian – and work meetings in hotel suites where West would engage in loud sexual encounters in adjoining rooms, a new lawsuit claims.
Plaintiff Murphy Aficionado says the rapper, who legally changed his name to Ye, hired him as a project manager in October 2022 in what he initially considered a dream gig. In his lawsuit, Aficionado says he worked up to 70 hours a week and sometimes slept in the office to meet deadlines. Instead of being paid his pledged rate of $125 per hour, Aficionado says he was deluged with “racist lectures,” angry outbursts and empty promises.
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“Ye’s antisemitic tirades and conspiracies were a daily occurrence. Often, these outbursts involved how Jews controlled the Kardashians. Other times, Ye recounted how Jews were going after him and his money,” the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court states.
“The Jews are out to get me. They froze my bank account. The Jews got Kim [Kardashian] and my kids,” West purportedly told a confused Aficionado on one occasion, according to the lawsuit filed by lawyers Carney R. Shegerian and William Reed. When Aficionado asked West what he meant, the Yeezy boss allegedly responded, “The Jews convinced Kim [Kardashian]. She has Jewish masters.”
Aficionado claims that in late November 2022, West summoned him to the Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria for a meeting. He says a lawyer for conservative commentator Candace Owens exited the suite as he entered. (A month prior, West and Owens posed together at his Paris fashion show wearing matching “White Lives Matter” tee shirts.) Aficionado alleges he quickly spotted West’s wife Bianca Censori standing topless inside and tried to exit as well, but West “commanded” him to sit down. He says West told him the lawyer was “a Jewish spy” and then demonstrated his “dominance” by opening the door to the bedroom where Censori had retreated, exposing her again. He claims West left the door slightly ajar as he had loud sex with Censori while Aficionado waited silently for their meeting to resume.
“Disturbed, Aficionado wanted nothing more than to leave. However, Aficionado feared further retaliation by one of the most famous, powerful, and erratic artists in the world,” the lawsuit states. Aficionado claims West returned from the bedroom wearing a T-shirt with a swastika and aggressively asked him, “Don’t you like my shirt?”
According to the lawsuit, West instructed him to return to the same suite for another meeting later that week. Aficionado says West was in the suite with an unnamed “famous NFL wide receiver” when he arrived and that the two men were dressed in towels. He claims they took turns going into a room where they allegedly had audible sexual relations with a masseuse. “Aficionado sat uncomfortably as time slowly passed,” the lawsuit claims, “while he listened to the clapping and moaning from that room where Ye and his masseuse had sex.”
Aficionado claims that West instructed him to relocate the music mogul’s controversial K-12 private Christian school Donda Academy to a new campus in Chatsworth in February 2023. When Aficionado and others on his team explained that building permits would be needed to turn the “decrepit property” into a safe environment for kids, West allegedly “became irate and yelled that he would not accept waiting [for] or using permits,” the lawsuit alleges. Aficionado says he was terminated in July 2023 when it was announced Donda Academy would “no longer be in operation.”
Aficionado’s lawsuit includes claims for discrimination, hostile work environment, labor code violations, failure to pay wages and wrongful termination. It names West, Yeezy, and Donda Academy as defendants. Attempts to reach a representative for West and his companies were not immediately successful Thursday. A spokeswoman for Kardashian did not respond to a request for comment.
The new lawsuit is the latest in a wave of complaints filed against West after antisemitic rants posted on his social media accounts in October 2022 sparked widespread criticism and the end of his lucrative partnerships with Gap and Adidas. In one particularly infamous Twitter post, West told his millions of followers on Oct. 8, 2022, that he was “a bit sleepy tonight, but when I wake up, I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” Twitter, now X, removed the statement and locked West out of his account.
As West faced ongoing fallout and his billionaire status deteriorated, simmering problems with Donda Academy would eventually lead to the school’s dissolution. A former teacher at the school sued West last April with claims the musician voiced antisemitic conspiracy theories in front of students and said he wanted two students to shave their heads and be locked in cages. Plaintiff Trevor Phillips alleges West also simulated masturbation in front of him during a meeting at a hotel while the movie The Batman played on mute. Phillips is represented by the same legal team as Aficionado.
“[West’s] vitriol, hate, and antisemitism continues, as does his complete and utter disrespect for the women around him,” Aficionado’s lawyer William Reed said in a statement shared Thursday with Rolling Stone. “By filing [Aficionado’s] lawsuit, we aim to vindicate our client’s rights and force Ye to learn that this conduct has no place our society. We very much look forward to Mr. Aficionado’s day in court.”
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