The man suing Kanye West over injuries he allegedly sustained during the demolition of the rapper’s Malibu beach house testified in court yesterday (Wednesday February 25), claiming Ye told him that he wasn’t allowed to leave the property.
Tony Saxon, who is an ex-employee of Ye, took legal action against the star in 2023. He claimed that he was owed $1million (£800,000) in unpaid wages and loss of earnings after working as a project manager, full-time security, and live-in caretaker at the mansion.
The lawsuit filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court alleged that the ‘Donda’ artist unlawfully fired Saxon after he refused to comply with Ye’s “dangerous” demands.
Per the complaint, Saxon also severely injured his back while working for West. However, his requests for time off were allegedly ignored by the rapper.
As Rolling Stone reports, Saxon’s testimony yesterday included the claim that Ye had ordered him to live at the house full-time. He was allegedly told by West: “You can’t leave.”
When discussing one particular evening, Saxon recalled West looking over him while he was in bed in the early hours. “He stood over me and asked, ‘Why are you not working?’” said Saxon. “It was like three or four in the morning. I said, ‘I have to sleep sometime’.”
He said he didn’t know how to respond to Ye’s question, adding that the rapper had “chuckled” at his reply.
The 35-year-old testified that he had developed a friendly back-and-forth with West, and had worked for him for six weeks from September 2021. Ye is said to have bought the property for $57.3million earlier that same year.
Jurors were shown screenshots of text messages between West and Saxon, in which they called each other “brother” and responded with heart emojis. The court reportedly saw an image of Saxon’s bed set-up at the house, too. This was said to consist of just a small mattress on a concrete floor.
West allegedly demanded photo updates of the work, and reportedly hit out at Saxon for wearing blue clothes instead of the all-black uniform Ye preferred.
Saxon went through numerous pages of text messages in court, including photos, updates and a budget he’d put together. He reiterated that the rapper had hired him as a project manager on the demolition.
“He wanted to turn the home into an open-concept, off-the-grid bunker, with privatised Wi-Fi and renewable energy,” Saxon reportedly told the jury. “He didn’t want to be connected to the city’s power grid or water grid.”
According to Saxon, the star asked for all wiring and plumbing to be removed, as well as a jacuzzi, chimney, a black-marble bathroom and more. He remembered one “experimental” part of the job, involving the removal of all glass and windows.
“The whole house needed to be open, very bare, minimalistic,” Saxon said.
When testifying about another occasion, he remembered arriving at the mansion to learn that the night watchman had been fired. Ye then asked Saxon to take on security duties, the latter claimed.
“Since you’re going to be there so much, running shifts, you should be the security,” Ye allegedly told Saxon. He is said to have demanded: “Stay here now. You can’t leave.”
West also allegedly told Saxon that the work should be done on the quiet, as the rapper didn’t have any permits.
West’s lawyers alleged during their opening statements on Tuesday (February 24) that Saxon was working as an independent contractor, rather than an employee. They claimed that their evidence would prove that Saxon was an unlicensed contractor who “destroyed” the “architectural gem”.
Attorney Andrew Cherkasky argued that it was Saxon who wanted to keep the project “under the radar and low-key” so inspectors wouldn’t discover he was unlicensed and “shut down” the job.
One text exchange showed Saxon telling West: “We should probably chill for a bit on major noise outside until Monday, not to draw attention.” He claimed that he sent the message after Ye expressed concern.
Ye also raised concerns over “how loud” a generator would be, with another message from Saxon reading: “Just got another huge load of trash discreetly out of here too.” In response, West said: “Awesome, keep sending updates.” He included a heart emoji, as well.
As for the back injury he suffered on the job, Saxon told the court that this occurred when he was taking down two chimney stacks: “The full force of the spire going down yanked my body and whiplashed me.”
However, Cherkasky told the court on Tuesday that there was “not a single medical record” showing Saxon was injured when he was working for West.
Saxon’s lawyer, Ron Zambrano, claimed that this was because his client did not immediately seek treatment: “He’s not somebody who does what most people with health insurance who don’t get fired by celebrities do.”
Despite the rapper’s alleged behaviour in the suit, Saxon claimed that Ye could be kind-natured at times. When West noticed that Saxon hadn’t showered for days, he took him to Malibu’s Nobu Hotel in Kim Kardashian’s Lamborghini.
Saxon is scheduled to return to court later today (Thursday February 26). The trial is expected to last another two weeks. Ye is due to testify, as is his wife Bianca Censori.
West has faced multiple complaints from former employees in recent years. He was sued for discrimination by an ex-Yeezy worker last year, and accused of texting “Hail Hitler” to a Jewish staff member. In 2023, he was accused in a lawsuit of allowing a bullying culture to permeate his Donda Academy.
Around the same time, he avoided battery charges in relation to an incident that saw him throw a woman’s mobile phone in the street.
In late 2022, members of staff at Yeezy, as well as Adidas workers, accused the star of using pornography and “mind games” to bully employees. Adidas later launched an investigation into the matter.
West claimed last month that his recent apology for his past anti-Semitic comments was not about his forthcoming new album, ‘Bully’, or an attempt to “revive” his career. He has since announced a one-off live show in the Netherlands, marking his first European headline date since 2014.
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