American rapper and producer Kanye West, also known as Ye, has been found liable in a lawsuit involving unpaid wages and wrongful termination connected to his Malibu home renovation.
According to reports by Rolling Stone and NBC News, a jury ordered the rapper to pay $140,000 (£105,000) to project manager Tony Saxon.
Saxon had sought $1.7 million (£1.27 million) in damages, alleging he was underpaid, injured while working on the property, forced to live in poor conditions, and wrongfully dismissed. However, the jury did not award any additional punitive damages.
The verdict followed a two-week trial in which Saxon claimed he was not properly compensated for work carried out during the renovation of West’s $57 million Malibu mansion.
Kanye West purchased the property in 2021 and reportedly stripped the house of its interior fixtures and fittings during renovations. In August 2024, real estate broker Jason Oppenheim, known from the TV show Selling Sunset, confirmed that the property was in escrow before it was later sold for $21 million (£15.7 million).
According to a civil complaint filed in September 2023 and obtained by People magazine, Saxon said he was hired as a project manager in September 2021. He also alleged that he was asked to serve as full-time security and a live-in caretaker for the property at a weekly salary of $20,000 (£15,000).
Saxon claimed he received only one payment.
However, West’s attorneys argued that bank records showed Saxon was paid $240,000 (£179,000) for his work.
In a statement shared with People, a representative for Kanye West and his wife, Bianca Censori, said the jury’s decision related only to Saxon’s claims that he was injured while working on the property.
The representative added that Kanye West’s legal team is now preparing to pursue a larger case involving what they described as an unlawful mechanic’s lien placed on the Malibu property by Saxon and his lawyer.
