Kanye West Will Officially Face Deposition In Donda Academy Lawsuit

BY Cole Blake 2.5K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones - Roaming Arrivals
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 09: Kanye West attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rich Fury/VF20/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
Kanye West is facing a lawsuit from someone claiming to have been an employee at his Donda Academy private school.

Kanye West has been ordered to sit for a deposition in a shocking lawsuit regarding his infamous private school, Donda Academy. In court documents obtained by TMZ, a judge in Los Angeles ruled that the controversial rapper will have 30 days to show up and answer questions about the case in person.

It was originally filed in April 2024 by a man by the name of Trevor Phillips, who claimed he worked for West at the school and was allegedly subjected to discrimination, harassment, a hostile work environment, and more. In his initial filing, he wrote that West “spew forth hate, profess antisemitic tropes and lies, threaten the LGBTQ+ community, and even on one occasion, almost sexually stimulate himself.” He also referenced West's countless controversial and offensive antics on social media.

“Even when class was in session, Kanye would scream and berate black employees, while never even as much raising his tone at the white staff,” he further alleged. “Often, Kanye targeted Phillips – a black man – not just with this disparate and harassing behavior, but complete and utter disdain.”

Kanye West Lawsuit Trouble

NFL: Super Bowl LVI-Los Angeles Rams at Cincinnati Bengals
Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; Rapper/recording artist Kanye West during the Cincinnati Bengals game against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images

The latest filing notes that Phillips has made numerous unsuccessful attempts at getting West to show up for a deposition. When reached by TMZ, West's lawyer, Eduardo Martorell, declined to comment. It's unclear exactly when West will show up for his deposition.

The lawsuit from Trevor Phillips is far from the only one Kanye West has been dealing with in recent years. His former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta, is also taking legal action against him with allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct. In an amendment to her case from July, she also claimed he orchestrated a swatting campaign against her in retaliation for her claims. West has already denied those allegations.

About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.

Comments 1