Kanye West‘s former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta, filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment, breach of contract, and wrongful termination. Reports from TMZ, Rolling Stone, and the BBC confirm that Pisciotta also sued West and his companies, including Yeezy, for fraud, unpaid wages, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Pisciotta collaborated with West on his Yeezy women’s clothing line and his 2021 album Donda. She joined as his assistant in 2021 with a promised annual salary of $1 million, under the condition of being available “24/7,” according to Rolling Stone.
Although Pisciotta earned the same annual income from her OnlyFans and social media activities, West initially approved her side work. However, he later asked her to delete her account and offered an additional $1 million for compliance. Pisciotta claims that after she complied, West began to sexually harass her.
The lawsuit includes explicit texts allegedly sent by West. In one message, West wrote, “See my problem is I be wanting to fuck but then after I fuck I want a girl to tell me how hard they been fucked while I’m fucking them. Then I want her to cheat on me.” Another message read, “Is my dick racist? I’m going to stare at pictures of white women with black asses and beat the shit out of my racist dick.”
Pisciotta alleges that West fixated on the penis size of her partners and masturbated during phone conversations with her. During a flight to Paris, West allegedly trapped her in his room on the plane and began masturbating under the covers before falling asleep, as reported by Rolling Stone.
The lawsuit mentions that West promoted Pisciotta to chief of staff for his companies in September 2022, with a promised $3 million bonus. He fired her the following month but offered a $3 million severance package, which she claims she never received.
Pisciotta’s lawsuit comes shortly after Milo Yiannopoulos, Yeezy’s chief of staff, quit following West’s plans to create a pornography division.
In response, West’s legal representative issued a statement claiming that he will counter-sue Pisciotta, alleging that she pursued him sexually to gain employment and other benefits, and engaged in blackmail and extortion when he rejected her advances. The statement also accuses Pisciotta of stealing West’s cell phone to destroy records that would contradict her claims.
West’s legal rep described Pisciotta as unqualified and demanding unreasonable sums of money, including a $4 million annual salary. The statement also alleged numerous incidents of inappropriate behavior by Pisciotta, including offering West sex on his birthday, sending unsolicited nude images, and twerking in the office during business hours. The rep further claimed Pisciotta demanded material items such as Hermes Birkin bags, a Lamborghini, and plastic surgery.
The representative stated that Pisciotta’s behavior is inconsistent with someone who claims to have been sexually harassed or experienced a hostile work environment. They accused her of leveraging her association with West to seek material gains and fabricating headlines after her initial lawsuit for unlawful termination failed to gain media traction. Pisciotta allegedly demanded $60 million in blackmail last year and $50 million last week.
