A jury ruled against Ye, the musician previously known as Kanye West, in a lawsuit filed by a former business partner. He was ordered to pay $140,000.
In September 2023, Tony Saxon filed a lawsuit against Ye in Los Angeles court. Saxon, who had worked as both a security guard and caretaker for Ye at his Malibu home, claimed he wasn’t paid for his work, faced discrimination due to a disability, and experienced other labor law violations.
Hollywood Inc.
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The court ordered Ye to pay $140,000 in damages, which is significantly less than the $1.7 million his lawyers were seeking. On top of that, he’s also responsible for covering Saxon’s legal costs, bringing the total he owes to over $1 million.
Okay, so the lawyers for Saxon – they’re from West Coast Trial Lawyers here in LA – are saying the verdict wasn’t a total loss. They’re actually calling it a win for their client, a real vindication, even though it wasn’t a complete sweep. It’s good to see them fighting for him!
It was really disheartening to hear that Ye’s legal team actually attacked his character in court, calling him dishonest and even faking illness. They went through every detail of his life – his medical history, finances, and family – and just tore it all apart. It felt like a personal attack, not a legal defense.
Zambrano described Mr. Saxon’s stance against a major celebrity as a classic underdog story, emphasizing that Mr. Saxon was fighting for what was right.
I was really disturbed to hear about what happened to this security guard, Saxon. He claims he was made to sleep on the floor while working for Kanye West, and then was let go in November 2021 because he wouldn’t follow what he described as ‘dangerous requests.’ Apparently, he tried to bring these concerns, and others, to West’s attention multiple times, but his complaints were just ignored. It’s a really upsetting story.
In 2021, he bought the concrete house on the beach – a design by famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando, who has won the Pritzker Prize – for $57.3 million. He then completely renovated the house on Malibu Road, jokingly saying he was turning it into a secure hideaway, like a bomb shelter or the Batcave.
Three years after starting construction, the rapper sold the incomplete mansion – which had been stripped of windows, doors, electrical wiring, and plumbing, and had walls torn down – to Belwood Investments, a development company owned by Steven Belmont, for $21 million, taking a substantial financial loss in the process.
In legal documents, Ye rejected the claims made by Saxon. He stated in a November 2023 filing that Saxon hadn’t suffered any harm or loss due to anything he did or failed to do.
Last January, Ye filed a lawsuit against Saxon and his legal firm regarding a $1.8 million claim against his Malibu home. Ye claims they improperly placed this claim on the property and, at the same time, intentionally publicized the issue to pressure him, discourage potential buyers, and force him to pay a debt that was already being disputed in court.
That case is pending.
In recent years, the mercurial superstar has face a number of public and legal dramas.
After making antisemitic remarks—including a claim he admired Nazis on X, which he later walked back—Ye faced significant consequences in 2022, losing major business deals with companies like Adidas and the Gap.
After two years, Ye unexpectedly closed Donda Academy, the private school he started in 2020, which had been facing difficulties.
Ye and the organizations connected to his school have been sued by several former workers and teachers. These lawsuits claim they were unfairly fired, subjected to a negative and uncomfortable workplace, and experienced other issues.
In legal documents, Ye has rejected all accusations made by people who used to work for him and at his Donda school.
Several of those suits have been settled.
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2026-03-12 00:31