Kanye West and his former chief of staff, Milo Yiannopoulos, are embroiled in a legal battle following allegations of fostering a toxic workplace and distributing explicit content, according to a lawsuit filed in a U.S. District Court.
The lawsuit accuses West and Yiannopoulos of subjecting their employees to “forced labor and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,” while failing to compensate them for their work on the YZYVSN streaming service app. The app, launched in Spring 2024 to promote West’s music independently, allegedly involved adult and minor employees working grueling hours under oppressive conditions.
West and Yiannopoulos purportedly made false promises of payment and coerced their employees, including minors as young as 14, to sign non-disclosure agreements and “volunteer” agreements under threat of dismissal and non-payment. The suit further claims that racial and derogatory slurs were used by management, creating a hostile environment where employees were mocked and disparaged.
Amid these allegations, Bianca Censori, West’s wife, is implicated for allegedly sending explicit pornographic content to staff, accessible even to minors involved in the app’s development. Despite these claims, Bianca is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
The legal documents highlight instances of discriminatory behavior and emotional distress inflicted upon the team, with employees reportedly enduring insults related to their age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and national origin. Management allegedly bullied workers into prolonged work hours without compensation or adequate rest.
Following an intense development phase culminating in the completion of the app in early May 2024, West and Yiannopoulos allegedly refused to pay their employees for their labor, prompting the lawsuit seeking damages for unpaid wages, overtime, and emotional distress.
As the legal proceedings unfold, West and Yiannopoulos have yet to respond to the allegations presented in the lawsuit.
Source:TMZ
