New Delhi: A jury has ordered controversial American rapper Kanye West, or Ye, to pay $ 140,000 after a handyman sued him over unpaid work at his Malibu mansion. The verdict in the Los Angeles trial came after Tony Saxon claimed the rapper did not pay him the agreed-upon sum for renovations at the beachside property and unjustly fired him.
Saxon had sought $1.7 million in damages, but the Los Angeles Superior Court jury on 12 March did not rule entirely in the plaintiff’s favour.
The plea was initially filed in 2023, alleging unsafe working conditions, unpaid wages and wrongful termination along with medical expenses after saying he injured his neck and back during the job.
The jury saw a photo of a small mattress on a concrete floor where Saxon claimed he slept on while working at the Malibu property, which West purchased in 2021 for $57 million.
Saxon claimed the rapper agreed to pay him $20,000 per week but only gave him one $20,000 payment and one other payment of $100,000 for construction costs.
In his testimony, the LA-based handyman added that West said he could not leave the property and, on one occasion, even woke him up at 3 am to ask why he wasn’t working.
Past controversies
From antisemitism, anti-vaxxing to
On multiple occasions, West has spoken against the Jewish community. In one post on X, he wrote, “I’m a Nazi, Jewish people actually hate White people and use Black people, and some of my best friends are Jewish, and I don’t trust any of them.”
In 2025, West, who identifies as a Nazi, released the song ‘Heil Hitler’. The accompanying music video shows several men wearing animal pelts and masks standing in a block formation, chanting the song’s title. West raps about being misunderstood and also mentions the custody battle with his ex-wife and reality TV star Kim Kardashian. The video ends with the dictator’s infamous 1935 speech.
Several leading music streaming platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Music, refused to list the song. Following the song and some of his more problematic tweets, Elon Musk, the owner of X, suspended the rapper’s account.
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Past legal troubles
West’s anti-Semitic comments attracted a slew of lawsuits and loss of partnerships with Adidas and Gap. He was sued more than two dozen times by former Yeezy employees and musicians claiming sampling disputes, and by two models who alleged he sexually assaulted them, as reported by Rolling Stone.
In 2024, West’s former assistant Lauren Pisciotta filed a lawsuit alleging she was drugged by her employer before being sexually assaulted during a studio session hosted by American rapper and music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Four people who worked for West claimed they were unfairly treated and discriminated against because of their race and/or religion.
In 2024, New York-based composer Willie Alexander sued West and his companies, alleging unpaid work and misleading practices.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)