Kanye West sued for sexual harassment, wrongful termination by former assistant

Kanye West is being sued for sexual harassment, breach of contract, and wrongful termination by a woman who worked as his assistant for two years.

In a lawsuit, Lauren Pisciotta alleges the star sent her lewd texts and performed sex acts while on the phone with her, according to US media.

She claims she was fired in 2022, but that a $3 million (£2.4 million) severance package was never paid.

Lauren Pisciotta claimed that she was hired as West’s “Executive Assistant/Personal Assistant” in 2021 with an annual salary of $1m (£781,450), on the condition that she was available to him “24-7”, which she accepted, according to court documents obtained by US media outlets.

Pisciotta said that she had worked in the music industry for 15 years prior to this and collaborated with West on season one of his Yeezy women’s fashion line. She alleges that she also contributed towards three songs on his album Donda, which was released that same year.

In the lawsuit, Pisciotta claimed she was also making an additional $1m from OnlyFans, the subscriber platform that hosts predominantly adult content.

However, West allegedly asked her to be more “God Like” and delete her account in 2022 in exchange for $1m. Pisciotta claimed that he then bombarded her with explicit messages and, in one incident, masturbated in front of her.

As reported by Rolling Stone, West allegedly wrote in one text message: “See my problem is I be wanting to f*** but then after I f*** I want a girl to tell me how hard they been f****ed while I’m f****ing them,” before adding: “Then I want her to cheat on me.”

Pisciotta claimed that West would also call her under the guise of discussing work-related matters only then to masturbate while on the phone with her.

Another incident allegedly saw West lock Pisciotta in a room with him during a flight to Paris, claiming that he needed to talk to her, before lying down on his bed and masturbating under the covers until he fell asleep while she sat in a chair across from him.

Pisciotta said in the lawsuit that she was promoted to Chief of Staff for West’s various companies around September 2022 and that she was told that she would receive an additional $3m (£2.3m). However, the following month, she claimed that she was fired and offered a $3m severance package, which she did not receive.

She is suing West for sexual harassment, breach of contract and wrongful termination, and is also suing West and his affiliated Yeezy companies for fraud, unpaid wages, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

By Ezinne Okorie.