One of the most successful rappers of the 2000s and 2010s, Kanye West (who is now known as Ye) is being sued for or sexual harassment, breach of contract and wrongful termination by his former PA.
Lauren Pisciotta, an Instagram model with over a million followers who worked for West for two years, told US media that he sent her lewd texts and performed sex acts while on the phone with her. She says she was fired in 2022 – but she didn’t ever get her $3 million severance package.
West hired Pisciotta, who had 15 years’ experience in the music industry, for $1 million per year on the condition that she was available “24-7”. Before this role, her income came largely from her OnlyFans profile and West was initially happy for her to continue this. However, he reportedly said he wanted his assistant to be “God-like” and asked her to delete her account – which she did, in return for $1 million.
After this, she claims her boss repeatedly sent explicit text messages, including pornographic videos, and said that, on one occasion, he pleasured himself in front of her after “trapping” her in a private room on his plane.
She was promoted to Chief of Staff in 2022 (which came with a $4 million salary) but was fired soon afterwards and, allegedly, her severance package remains unpaid. As such, Pisciotta is also suing for fraud, unpaid wages and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
This isn’t the first series of reports on this theme for West, who has previously referred to a “full-on pornography addiction” that “destroyed my family”. He didn’t respond to previous allegations at the time and stayed silent ever since – but has chosen to talk this time.
In a new statement, a legal representative for West said he is filing his own lawsuit against his ex-employee for making “baseless allegations” and “demands” of “$50 [million] in last week’s frivolous filing.” However, there are no records of his lawsuit yet.
West’s team reports that Pisciotta was “terminated for being unqualified” and “demanding unreasonable sums of money (including a $4 million annual salary).” The statement also says that whilst still employed Pisciotta “stole [West’s] cell phone in an attempt to destroy phone records.”
Pisciotta is also said to have “used sexual coercion in an attempt to demand not only money but material items, namely Hermes Birkin bags, a Lamborghini” and “plastic surgery.”
West’s representative adds: “Such behaviour is entirely inconsistent with someone who claims to have been sexually harassed or experienced a hostile work environment.”
