{"id":508694,"date":"2026-03-07T06:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T06:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/508694\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T06:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T06:15:08","slug":"kanye-west-repeats-i-cant-recall-in-drowsy-seeming-trial-testimony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/508694\/","title":{"rendered":"Kanye West Repeats ‘I Can’t Recall’ in Drowsy-Seeming Trial Testimony"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tYe, the artist formerly known as Kanye West<\/a>, has something even more in common with his sometimes-ally Donald Trump these days: an inclination to rest his eyes in public moments where it\u2019s clear the proceedings aren\u2019t catching his interest. In this case, Ye seemed to court witnesses to be catching some moments of shut-eye Friday while observing and ultimately testifying as a defendant in a trial over his treatment of a contractor at his former Malibu mansion.<\/p>\n

\n\tSeveral journalists reporting from the courthouse described Ye being seemingly drowsy, and being willfully forgetful when he was alert, answering \u201cI don\u2019t recall\u201d to dozens of questions.<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Rolling Stone<\/a>, Ye \u201crepeatedly yawned, closed his eyes for long stretches, and at times seemed to catch his head falling forward as if dozing while seated on the witness stand.\u201d The publication noted that \u201cthe sleepy performance prompted glances among people in the gallery,\u201d pointing out that Ron Zambrano, the attorney for plaintiff Tony Saxon, mouthed to a fellow lawyer at one point, \u201cIs he asleep?\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tCourthouse News Service<\/a> confirmed that Ye \u201cat times appeared to nod off in the small courtroom in downtown Los Angeles as Zambrano quizzed him.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tThe testimony produced few details, with Ye giving simple \u201cyes\u201d and \u201cno\u201d answers as well as \u201cI don\u2019t recall.\u201d However, there was at least one amusing moment in which the hip-hop mogul did remember a detail of his encounters with Saxon, who is claiming $1 million in wages and expenses he said he was never paid for his work on an aborted renovation of the historic beachside property in 2021.<\/p>\n

\n\tEmilie Hagen, who has posted for years about Ye on the Instagram account @kanyesposts, has been delivering her own daily video accounts of attending the trail since jury selection began early last week. On Friday, she took to IG to give her recollection of how testimony unfolded: <\/a>\u201cYe is literally sitting there like a statue saying \u2018I don\u2019t recall.\u2019 The funniest part is, though, is he did recall something. So, Zambrano, the lawyer, asks, \u2018Ye, do you have any memory of taking Tony Saxon to McDonald\u2019s?\u2019 \u2018No.\u2019 \u2018Do you have any memory of taking Tony Saxon to the hardware store?\u2019 \u2018No. \u2018Do you have any memory of calling Mr. Saxon when he was on the side of the road and ran out of gas?\u2019 \u2018No.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd then, Hagen said, something finally stirred a different answer from Ye: \u201c\u2018Do you have any memory of Mr. Saxon having a bad body odor?\u2019 \u2018Yes.\u2019 So funny \u2014 Ye remembers how Tony smelled, but does not remember the McDonald\u2019s trip, drawing him the bath, taking him to the hardware store or running out of gas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYe did speak up at one point to request that the attorney address him simply as \u201cYe\u201d \u2013 which is now his full legal name \u2014 noting, \u201cIt\u2019s just Ye. No \u2018mister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe defendant did not stonewall on every question. Asked if he had told Saxon he wanted to convert all the stairways in the house into slides, Ye set the record straight, saying that he only wanted one staircase thus changed.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe also elaborated ever-so-slightly on the contention that he told Saxon he wanted all the electricity and plumbing taken out, along with all the windows to leave the building completely \u201coff the grid.\u201d Ye answered that he did want plumbing in the building, but \u201cit was going to be a different system,.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYe\u2019s testimony on Friday followed that of his wife, Bianca Censori<\/a>, on Thursday, when she also said she could \u201cnot recall\u201d in answer to many of Zambrano\u2019s questions, but did offer some lengthier responses than Ye did in following her to the stand.<\/p>\n

\n\tCensori insisted in her testimony that Saxon had misrepresented his credentials, which has been a key part of Ye\u2019s defense. \u201cWhen I stopped working at the house, I said, \u2018Do you have a contractor\u2019s license?\u2019 And he said he did,\u201d Censori said. <\/p>\n

\n\tSaxon has insisted he was up-front with Ye, testifying, \u201cI told him I was just a guy with a minivan, not a licensed contractor,\u201d even though the rapper ultimately seemed to put him in charge of the renovation before firing him, in his account.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the time, Ye was still married to Kim Kardashian, and Censori was known in his organization for her interest in design and architecture. Censori confirmed one part of earlier testimony \u2014 that Kardashian was reportedly perturbed when another employee mistook Censori for Kardashian during a visit to the house. The employee testified that Ye forgave him for the snafu.<\/p>\n