Trevor Phillips joined the list of former Donda Academy employees who filed lawsuits against Kanye West. Phillips sued Ye for discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination and more in Los Angeles on Tuesday (April 2).
According to multiple reports, Phillips said Ye used “dangerous rhetoric” and expressed a desire to create a “jail” for Donda Academy students. Kanye allegedly told two children he wanted to shave their heads and lock them in cages.
Phillips, who started working for Ye in November 2022, said his ex-boss decided to “double down” on antisemitism after Adidas and others cut ties with the controversial rapper/rapper. Kanye compared himself to Hitler “minus the gas chambers” and said the Holocaust was fake.
Ye also targeted the LGBTQ+ community. He allegedly opined how “gay people are controlled by Bill Gates so that they don’t have children for population control,” per court documents.
The lawsuit claimed Ye “treated the Black staff considerably worse than white employees.” Phillips recalled one of Kanye’s “temper tantrums” at a May 2023 service held at the Donda Academy. Ye berated Phillips over the plaintiff’s work on a garden.
“Kanye’s ill-will towards the plaintiff ultimately culminated in a vulgar lashing in front of schoolchildren and their parents,” the lawsuit explained. “Kanye even threatened Phillips with physical violence.”
Ye declared he was firing Phillips, which led to the plaintiff pleading for his job. Phillips noted his daughter attended the Donda Academy but received a brutal response.
“F### your daughter,” Kanye said, per the complaint. “I don’t give a f### about none of that.”
The lawsuit said Ye threatened to punch Phillips in the face before a dramatic change of heart. Ye told Phillips he was giving the plaintiff “one more chance.” Kanye fired Phillips again the next day, yet Phillips continued working for Donda Academy until August 2023.
Phillips sought more than $35,000 in damages. Kanye has not commented on the lawsuit.
