{"id":190174,"date":"2026-02-23T16:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/190174\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:49:07","slug":"former-kanye-employee-alleges-unsafe-work-unpaid-wages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/190174\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Kanye Employee Alleges Unsafe Work, Unpaid Wages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tony Saxon claims he was fired after suffering a back injury and refusing dangerous demolition work; trial set for February 23 in Los Angeles Superior Court<\/p>\n

A former project manager has sued Ye, the rapper and fashion designer formerly known as Kanye West, alleging he was fired after suffering an injury, complaining about dangerous conditions at West\u2019s Malibu beachfront home and demanding payment of wages he claims exceeded $1 million. This is according to the complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2023. The civil case is set to go to trial on Monday, February 23, at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Credit: Los Angeles Superior Court<\/p>\n

Tony Saxon filed the lawsuit on September 13, 2023, accusing Ye of disability discrimination, retaliation, wage violations and failure to provide a safe workplace during a renovation of the artist\u2019s oceanfront property. Saxon alleges Ye hired him in September 2021 as a project manager, full-time security guard and live-in caretaker responsible for overseeing demolition, coordinating contractors and protecting the property around the clock. According to the complaint, Saxon worked shifts that extended up to 16 hours a day while also providing 24-hour security and construction oversight at the Malibu residence. He alleges he was forced to sleep in terrible and \u201cmakeshift\u201d conditions inside the partially demolished home, using his coat as bedding and resting on the ground near exposed insulation.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Credit: Los Angeles Superior Court<\/p>\n

Saxon claims Ye promised to pay him $20,000 per week but paid him only once, despite requiring him to perform intense labor and management duties tied to the renovation project. He claims he repeatedly notified Ye about unpaid wages, vendor invoices and expenses related to the construction. The complaint also alleges Saxon raised repeated concerns about unsafe demolition practices, including workers removing structural elements without proper safety equipment. Saxon claims Ye ignored his warnings and continued to demand progress on the project.<\/p>\n

In November 2021, Saxon alleges he suffered a severe back injury while working at the property and informed Ye he needed time off to recover. Instead of providing accommodations, Saxon claims Ye continued demanding updates and pressed him to continue with demolition work, including removing electricity and windows from the home while construction was still incomplete.<\/p>\n

Saxon also alleged that during a meeting on November 5, 2021, Ye insisted that he carry out demolition work that Saxon believed posed large safety risks, including placing generators inside the structure, which Saxon said could create fire hazards. He claims he refused to comply, citing safety concerns, and was immediately fired by Ye.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit goes onto claim Saxon was terminated in retaliation for reporting safety concerns, requesting medical accommodations and seeking payment for work performed. He also alleges Ye misclassified him as an independent contractor and failed to pay overtime, reimburse expenses and provide accurate wage statements.<\/p>\n

Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n

Saxon is represented by attorneys Neama Rahmani and Ronald L. Zambrano of West Coast Trial Lawyers,<\/a> according to the complaint. Rahmani tells Los Angeles, \u201cTony has been waiting two and a half years for his day in court, and he\u2019s looking forward to telling his story to a jury.\u00a0 This is the first time Ye will be testifying in a courtroom.\u00a0 All of his previous cases have settled.\u00a0 The public will be able to draw their own conclusions as to who is telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement accompanying the lawsuit, Zambrano accused Ye of disregarding worker safety and failing to meet his financial obligations. The attorney alleged Saxon was fired for refusing to carry out unsafe directives and is owed substantial compensation for unpaid wages and damages.<\/p>\n

Ye, who legally changed his name in 2021, has faced multiple lawsuits in recent years tied to business operations and employment matters. Court records show Saxon is seeking unpaid wages, damages for emotional distress and physical injury, statutory penalties and other compensation.<\/p>\n

Lawyers for Ye did not immediately respond to Los Angeles requests for comment on the allegations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tony Saxon claims he was fired after suffering a back injury and refusing dangerous demolition work; trial set…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":190175,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[66495,48,52,51,1846,47,50,49,9282],"class_list":{"0":"post-190174","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-kanye-west","9":"tag-la","10":"tag-la-headlines","11":"tag-la-news","12":"tag-lawsuit","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","15":"tag-los-angeles-news","16":"tag-malibu"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/190175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}