Kanye West has been hit with a new lawsuit alleging a hostile workplace and unpaid wages.
The rapper and his Yeezy company have been accused of mistreating several staff members – including bullying and not paying a number of them while they worked on developing a streaming app earlier this year.
The revelations come in a new lawsuit reported by The Washington Post.
Eight employees, including some minors, allege that West did not pay team members and referred to them as “slaves” and “new slaves” along with other derogatory treatment.
They also claim they were exposed to pornographic images in the “hostile work environment”. The plaintiffs are seeking payment for unpaid wages along with legal fees and damages for emotional distress.
According to the lawsuit, the team involved was working to develop a streaming service app, intended to promote Vultures 2 – the second studio album by the American hip hop supergroup ¥$, composed of West and singer Ty Dolla Sign.
Yeezy acquired the app YZYVSN to carry out the venture, and the team comprised staffers from around the world, including minors as young as 14.
Some of the team’s communications were carried out on Discord, where team members were allegedly bullied over age, race, gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity, according to the suit.
After the streaming service app was completed, Yeezy said that team members would be paid, but the payment never came.
