American rapper Kanye West has reportedly been sued for sexual harassment by his former assistant Lauren Pisciotta. As per her claims, the musician sent her vulgar texts and engaged in sexual misconduct over the phone.
Aside from the harassment charges, the lady has accused West of breach of contract and unlawful termination. She also claims she worked for the artist for two years.
As per the reports by TMZ, and Rolling Stone, Pisciotta is also suing Yeezy, a company owned by Ye for fraud, and unpaid wages, accusing him of emotional distress.
In 2021, she had worked with him on Yeezy women’s clothing line and his album Dondal. Reportedly, she was later appointed as his assistant who needed to be available 24/7, and was paid a million-dollar annual salary.
What did the complaint say?
According to the complaint, Kanye had no objections to Pisciotta collecting money via OnlyFans and social media, Nevertheless, he then requested that he be considered God-like and pressured her to deactivate her account in exchange for an additional USD 1 million, the claim alleges. Despite complying with his requests, Pisciotta alleges the rapper started sexually harassing her.
She also said that she was elevated to chief of staff for Kanye’s different firms in September 2022 and was promised she would get a USD 3 million bonus, after which she was sacked and offered a USD 3 million severance payout. Pisciotta said she never got her severance compensation, as mentioned in the lawsuit.
Kanye’s response to the lawsuit
Kanye’s legal representative issued a statement stating that he would be filing a counter suit against Pisciotta. In response to the lawsuit, he said, she “actively pursued him sexually to coerce employment and other material benefits, then engaged in blackmail and extortion when her advances were rejected”.
He also revealed that she stole West’s mobile phone to destroy the evidence of her claims, which are somehow preserved.
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected to India)