Kanye West Sued Over ‘New Slaves’; Bianca Accused of Sending Porn to Staff

Filed in a U.S. District Court, the lawsuit names Kanye West and his former chief of staff, Milo Yiannopoulos, as the main defendants. According to the suit, the pair engaged in “forced labor and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.”

The accusations state that Kanye and Milo promised payment to their employees, including minors, but instead subjected them to excessively long hours and racial harassment. Workers were reportedly called “new slaves” and other derogatory terms.

The trouble began in the Spring of 2024 when Kanye decided to create his own streaming service app, YZYVSN, as a means to bypass platforms like Tidal, Spotify, and Apple Music for the release of his albums “Vultures” and “Vultures 2.”

Kanye and Milo allegedly hired an international team of developers, many of whom were Black, and some as young as 14. The lawsuit claims these employees worked mostly remotely and communicated via platforms like Discord, Zoom, and Slack.

In April 2024, Milo allegedly promised the developer group $120,000 upon the app’s completion, provided they agreed to the harsh working conditions and refrained from complaining.

However, things took a dark turn. The lawsuit claims Kanye required all employees to sign non-disclosure agreements and threatened to fire or withhold pay from minors if they did not comply. These minors were also required to sign “volunteer” agreements.

Reports indicate that white managers overseeing the minority workers used derogatory language and created a hostile environment. Group chats allegedly contained harassment based on age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and national origin.

One African American team member reportedly received a Black/brown skin emoji from Milo, who also allegedly called a younger worker a school shooter. Employees were pushed to work long hours without proper rest or compensation.

In late April, Kanye announced the launch of an adult film business called “Yeezy Porn.” Bianca, Kanye’s wife, sent one worker a file-sharing link containing explicit content. The minors involved in app development were not shielded from these explicit videos. Bianca is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

On May 1, 2024, after a hectic period to finalize the app, the team reportedly presented Kanye with one of the finished apps. However, the lawsuit claims that Kanye and Milo failed to pay the employees for their work, prompting the legal action.

The lawsuit seeks damages for unpaid wages, overtime pay, and emotional distress. Efforts to reach Kanye and Milo for comment have so far been unsuccessful.

Source: TMZ