The artist formerly known as Kanye West allegedly wanted to shave the heads of students at his cryptic Donda Academy and lock them in cages, according to a new lawsuit against the “Black Skinhead” rapper that also claims he compared himself to Adolf Hitler.
A former employee at the California-based Christian academy founded by Ye in 2022 further alleges Ye spoke well of the Nazi leader and mistreated Black people at his unaccredited school, per court documents obtained by Rolling Stone.
The lawsuit against Ye was filed Tuesday in Los Angeles by Trevor Phillips, who was hired by the 46-year-old rapper in November 2022. Phillips worked for him until last August, when he claims he was fired amid one of Ye’s “temper tantrums,” in which he insulted Phillips and his daughter, who was a Donda Academy student.
Phillips alleges Ye in a text message compared himself to Hitler “minus the gas chambers,” according to NBC News. During one particular meeting, Phillips says Ye went on a rant about how the Holocaust was fake, and said “gay people are not true Christians.”
Among other things, the suit also claims Ye warned employees they could be fired for being “fat,” and stiffed workers out of pay after Adidas cut ties with the rapper over his antisemitic comments.
Ye’s attorneys have not publicly addressed the allegations in Phillips’ suit.
Donda Academy was named in honor of Ye’s mother, Donda West, who died in 2007 from complications connected to cosmetic surgery.
Amid the controversy surrounding Ye’s antisemitic rhetoric, the academy said it was suspending operations in October 2022 before announcing mere hours later it would remain open.
While the school’s current status is unclear, The U.S. Sun reported last month that Ye was rebranding the school as Donda Ray Academy and focusing its curriculum on basketball, choir and dance.
Donda Academy’s website is inactive.
