Earlier this year, Kanye West purchased a $1.5 million plot of land where the Cornerstone Christian Church stood in Los Angeles. When the purchase was first made back in March he seemed to insinuate that his original plan was to move his Donda Academy into the building. But with the Academy subject to numerous lawsuits for its various safety hazards and reported occupational discrimination, those plans never materialized.
Kanye West recently returned to LA after spending a controversial few months around Europe where he got into trouble numerous times. But since being back in California he hasn’t taken the chance to revisit the church he bought back in March. The building itself is reportedly in a state of total disarray and has been abandoned since earlier this year. Pictures of the building show boarded-up windows and trash discarded all around the premises. It’s unclear at the moment if West has any plans for the building going forward. Check out the pictures of the church at the link below.
PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: Kanye West aka Ye is seen wearing a Balenciaga boxing mouthguard, outside Givenchy, during Paris Fashion Week – Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 – Day Seven on October 02, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Edward Berthelot/GC Images)
Kanye West’s return to the US coincided with an exciting announcement for fans. He announced a new collaborative album with Ty Dolla $ign called that was supposed to come out last week. The project was also supposed to include some fan-favorite leaks like “New Body” which features Nicki Minaj. But when the time came for the project to be released it never materialized.
Now, Billboard is reporting that the new release date for the project is New Year’s Eve. Despite the announcement Kanye fans aren’t particularly getting their hopes up given the rapper’s track record for making release dates. What do you think of Kanye’s $1.5 million church being abandoned while he was in Europe? let us know in the comment section below.
Kanye West is facing a few lawsuits concerning his handling of Donda Academy, and it looks like they’re not backing down. Moreover, many readers doubted whether these claims of mismanagement and negligence would amount to a full court trial. However, from what new reports from AllHipHop indicate, at least one of these cases isn’t dying down despite his legal team’s pressure. Furthermore, former assistant principal Isaiah Meadow’s lawsuit for breach of contract wants to see the Chicago artist go through a complete court process. For those unaware, the lawsuits deal with Ye’s refusal to address broken glass at the school, unjust firing, and a number of other health and safety concerns.
According to Patch, Kanye West and his team initially tried to convince the court to dismiss the lawsuit altogether. What’s more is that their argument centered around the complain not falling within the statue of limitations, and is thus invalid. Regardless, Meadows’ lawyers maintained that the lawsuit concerns state Labor Code violations and specific breaches of contract. Not only that, but there’s another element to this particular case that could also pose strong legal ramifications.
PARIS, FRANCE – OCTOBER 02: Kanye West aka Ye is seen wearing a Balenciaga boxing mouthguard, outside Givenchy, during Paris Fashion Week – Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 – Day Seven on October 02, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Edward Berthelot/GC Images/Getty Images)
This concerns a $60,000 lease for a home in Calabasas, which Meadows claims Kanye West told him to get. Even though the 46-year-old hip-hop icon promised to pay this back, he eventually denied such a reimbursement to Meadows, or so the latter alleges. Both legal teams, though, have a lot of power behind them, as Ronald Zambrano represents Meadows in this lawsuit. He also represents three ex-dancers for Lizzo in their case against the singer, which became a hot topic in pop culture recently.
“We are aware of the response to Mr. Meadows’ lawsuit filed by Ye and his attorneys this week,” Zambrano reportedly stated. “It changes nothing. We stand by our case and the allegations contained in the complaint and are looking forward to taking this to trial.” On that note, keep checking in with HNHH for more news and the latest updates on Kanye West and the Donda Academy situation.
Kanye West is facing opposition to his plan for moving his Donda Academy from a campus in Simi Valley to Cornerstone Christian Church in Los Angeles. Over 12,000 people have signed a petition to block the rapper from doing so, as caught by The U.S. Sun. The outlet reports that the petition has successfully thwarted Ye’s plan for his controversial private school.
The petition includes a letter directed to Pastor Ronald Nagin. It reads in part: “As your fellow Christians, we strongly object to the possibility of Cornerstone Church renting space to Ye (Kanye West). There is no room in God’s house for hatred. Allowing Ye’s Donda Academy to operate out of a place of worship would give it and him credibility that at this point they do not deserve. As your siblings in Christ, we ask you not to host Ye’s unaccredited private school on your church grounds.” The group appears to be referencing Ye’s erratic behavior in 2022, which included numerous antisemitic rants.
LOS ANGELES, CA – MAY 13: Kanye West and Bianca Censori are seen on May 13, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rachpoot/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
The latest roadblock for Donda Academy comes as Timanii Meeks became the third ex-teacher to file a suit against Kanye. In her lawsuit, Meeks claimed the school let her go after she complained about building safety. “Clearly, Ye has a big problem on his hands with this school, and the addition of Ms. Meeks to the complaint only serves to reinforce the nightmarish conditions for staff and students at Donda Academy,” attorney Ron Zambrano said.
He added: “Ms. Meeks was fired months before Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers were terminated but all three clearly witnessed the same illegal and disturbing code violations and conduct at the school, and all three were given the same retaliatory and unlawful treatment merely for trying to stand up for the students’ rights to a meaningful education.” Be on the lookout for further updates on the lawsuit on HotNewHipHop.
Kanye West has been dealing with quite a bit of legal drama in 2023. On top of an ongoing lawsuit related to a space rented for his Yeezy GAP collab, he’s also dealing with lawsuits related to his Donda Academy. While teachers that were fired have already filed legal action alleging racist practices, another suit has emerged. According to Billboard, a new lawsuit filed today features even more damning allegations. A former teacher claims that he was fired for raising concerns about inconsistent pay and health and safety issues.
The details are of the suit are exceedingly strange. “In the middle of the main classroom, a skylight was left without glass inevitably allowing rain to fall directly inside, where water would soak into the floor, which would lead to a moldy smell for the next few days.” While there is an explanation provided for the actions it arguably causes even more questions. “The skylight was intentionally without glass because WEST expressed that he did not like glass.” On top of these issues, the school reportedly had faulty wiring that once sparked an electrical fire. It reportedly had septic tank issues that would cause bad smells.
Kanye West’s recent troubles have largely unfolded in the public eye. So much in fact the Sam Levinson and The Weeknd’s hit show The Idoltook shots at him in a recent episode. Those shots were in relation to West’s antisemitic comments last year. In a recently released documentary about the rapper West reportedly claimed that Jewish people were “holding him back.”
Kanye West has asked judges in both his ongoing cases to throw the lawsuits out. He refutes the claims made about Donda Academy and claims that GAP is responsible for the alterations caused to the Yeezy GAP space. West has kept an exceedingly low profile following everything that happened last year. Much of the news surrounding West these days relate to his ongoing lawsuits. What do you think of the new details emerging from Kanye West’s Donda Academy? Let us know in the comment section below.
From April to June of this year, three former teachers at Donda Academy sued Kanye Weston various grounds. First, two fired educators, and Black women, claimed that they were let go due to racial bias and called the institution “dystopian” and designed to please the artist’s “idiosyncrasies.” Moreover, the lawsuit also came against the school as a whole and three directors of it. In addition, they claimed that the firing came after they reported health code, education, and safety violations at the academy. Even though they raised issues to directors, Chekarey Byers and Cecilia Haley claim, they did nothing to resolve these issues.
Also, they alleged that teachers and students were barred from sitting in chairs, that students were forced to wear black head-to-toe, and based from wearing Nike or Adidas products. According to their suit, students could not leave the premises until the school day was completely over. “Throughout the entirety of Plaintiffs’ employment, the only lunch available for students was sushi, every single day,” the suit read. “Students were not allowed to bring any outside food or anything other than water. It was widely known that Defendant West spends $10,000 a week on sushi.” Another lawsuit from teacher Timanii Meeks claims that the school fired her after reporting that the school was unsafe.
PARIS, FRANCE – JANUARY 23: Ye is seen, outside Kenzo, during Paris Fashion Week. – Menswear F/W 2022-2023, on January 23, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
Furthermore, Kanye West denied all allegations and accused wrongdoing, and wants to see the case dismissed. “The truth is, Ye has nothing to do with Donda’s policies, practices, and procedures relating to employee pay and wage statements,” court documents state. “Surely, Plaintiffs know that. But- as unfortunately is commonly the case for Ye, a famous artist and businessperson- in the present action, Plaintiffs have haphazardly tossed a meritless and barebones guilt-by-association theory into their complaint to garner press attention and the resulting settlement pressure that comes with it.
“Plaintiffs misleadingly depict the Donda Academy as a dystopian institution designed to satisfy Ye’s idiosyncrasies,” it continued. “None of it is true and the allegations do a disservice to the Donda Academy’s current staff and students and their parents who will attest to their positive experience as this case proceeds.” The same law firm represents all plaintiffs, and believes their dismissals to be “retaliatory.” For more updates and the latest news on Kanye West, log back into HNHH.
Kanye West is being sued by a third former Donda Academy teacher. This time, the lawsuit surrounds allegations that the school was an unsafe working environment. Timanii Meeks was allegedly let go after informing school authorities that the building was not safe. She filed a lawsuit with the Los Angeles County Superior Court yesterday. She is suing on the basis of allegedly being fired without adequate reasoning and hazardous conditions.
Attorney Ron Zambrano said, “Clearly, Ye has a big problem on his hands with this school.” Adding, “The addition of Ms. Meeks to the complaint only serves to reinforce the nightmarish conditions for staff and students at Donda Academy.” He went on to claim, “Ms. Meeks was fired months before Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers were terminated but all three clearly witnessed the same illegal and disturbing code violations and conduct at the school.” The attorney also stated, “all three were given the same retaliatory and unlawful treatment merely for trying to stand up for the students’ rights to a meaningful education.”
Kanye West poses at the opening night of the new musical “The Cher Show” on Broadway at The Neil Simon Theatre on December 3, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
Meeks alleges that there was “bullying and assault” taking place at Donda Academy, as well as safety hazards like exposed wiring within the building. She also claims that she received complaints from parents for not having books in her classroom. Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers also sued Ye earlier this year, making similar claims. The former teachers were represented by the same law firm as Meeks, which claims the firings were “retaliatory.”
Reports included claims that students were exclusively served sushi and weren’t allowed to use chairs. They also state that students had to follow a very strict, all-black clothing policy. Reports additionally claimed that students were not allowed to go outside until the end of the school day. It was also reported that standard janitorial practices were not practiced in the building. Hailey alleged that the school’s curriculum also omitted various major pieces of history, including the holocaust. “They definitely wanted to suppress a lot of information in reference to history,” she described.
Most students of Kanye West’s Donda Academy are rumored to be children of the rich and famous. Since its existence, the institution has fit into the definition of “clandestine.” Secrecy strategies and NDAs have caged public details about its operations. Lawsuits, however, always divulge the unspeakable. As we know, the school’s future, from here on out, is shaky due to a legal war. The school’s former teachers spearhead this fight: Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers.
It is not easy to wage war against a celebrity. Often, people mistake your actions as attempts to cancel them. Conspicuously, Hailey and Byers are willing to brave it; plus, they come across as passionate ‘right-thing-oriented’ women. Though overly soaked in absurd sentiment, Kanye’s angle might not be hopelessly condemnable. His root incentives are genuine, but are his approaches? He created the academy for a range of pupils, from pre-kindergarten until the twelfth grade. This “academy” he launched was one of overflowing curiosity. Insider reported that between January 2022 and November 2022, 19,155 emails about Donda Academy bombarded LAPD records.
The school is no stranger to harsh (or blunt?) criticism, starting from its “unaccredited” qualifier. Ye, who we once knew as Kanye, established this highly-subjective institution in 2022. Seldom do we see a school whose dress code is black. Not even an extremely conservative academy would call for that stark genericness. Though boasting of a 10:1 ratio of students to teachers, it doesn’t have Ye’s kids as regular enrollees.
Additionally, Donda Academy’s curriculum was effortfully unique. It encapsulated Christianity, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and “Enrichment Courses.” There was reportedly also Visual Arts, Film, Choir, and Parkour. We would instinctively envision paradise, but hold on. We first need to hear from the mother and daughter who recently filed a lawsuit against Ye’s matriarch-commemorating phenomenon.
The two have had a lot of disturbing details to share. The first tier of their allegations centered around their exclusion from the academy. The second comprised uncanny breaches of health, safety, and learning regulations. In the lawsuits, plaintiffs stated they were the only teachers who were Black women. They also stated that they had experienced pay cutbacks based on racial identity and outspokenness. Hailey complained that she was hardly ever silent about her unfavorable take on the school’s policies. Allegedly, she was even “threatened not to reach out to him,” with “him” being Ye West, the founder himself. It finally escalated into a surprise termination one morning at the parking lot.
The Los Angeles Times particularly recounted Hailey’s firm belief that she and her mother were never alone in this. Hailey hypothesized that the others were too scared to lose money, privileges, or jobs. She concluded by crediting her passion for kids and education as her motivation for speaking up. Getting into a breakdown of some of these breaches is crucial; hence, we investigate further. “They definitely wanted to suppress a lot of information in reference to history,” Hailey lamented. The curriculum also reportedly omitted the Holocaust and many other atrocities against marginalized groups.
Donda Academy: More Allegations
It would appear that the Donda Academy curriculum was perhaps the least of all concerns. The pragmatic school conditions were seemingly too unsettling for Hailey and Byers to turn a blind eye to. Teachers were more or less free to stroll in with neither first-aid nor mandated child-abuse reporter training. The school allegedly forbade using cleaning chemicals, befitting trash cans, and janitorial services in general. There were also complaints about an absence of a school nurse, medical supplies, and proper medication storage. Even the plaintiffs exposed one scenario where the school stowed an allergic student’s EpiPen above a microwave. Further, the women revealed that cups and bowls were compulsorily gray.
The allegations expanded into issues as severe as the alleged acceptance of bullying and allowing strangers to pick up students. The women stood against the school’s lunch culture as well. The complaint documented how West would lavish $10,000 a week on his unswerving Sushi rule. Moreover, the school reportedly mandated teachers to restrict classes to the first floor due to West’s stairs phobia. Aside from being sentenced to a permanent Sushi menu, students reportedly had to eat on the floor. The women described how the school outlawed tables and chairs, crossword puzzles, and other helpful materials. West has not commented on the lawsuit at the time of this publication. However, we never know when he’ll rear his outspoken head.
Former Donda Academy teacher Cecilia Hailey says that students at the school are being deprived of what they need for the education they deserve. Speaking with TMZ for a new interview, Hailey warned parents that kids at the school are severely behind. She also complained about a lack of chairs, locked front doors, no lesson plans, and the only lunch option being sushi.
“That they need to be aware that their children are behind,” Hailey said when asked what she’d tell parents. “And that they need to consider that it’s going to be very hard for them to be able to transfer their kids out of that school next year or later because there are no grades, which I think they know of, and they can’t get transcripts and they’re not getting what they need. They absolutely are not getting what they need. The kids are being suppressed because of all the constant changes that go on at the school.”
US rapper Kanye West (C), attends the Givenchy Spring-Summer 2023 fashion show during the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week, in Paris, on October 2, 2022. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP) (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)
The interview with TMZ comes after Hailey, along with fifth-grade teacher Chekarey Byers, filed a lawsuit against the school. They claim they were fired from Donda Academy without a reason given to them, violating the state’s labor code. They also say they complained about the conditions at the school before being let go. The two also say principal Moira Love labeled them “aggressive.”
“I’m extremely sad about all of this,” Byers said during a news release. “It was such a huge honor and privilege to work at Donda Academy for Kanye West. I’m a huge Kanye fan. His first album was the first I ever purchased. I still enjoy his music, and I’ll never deny his talent, but while his vision for the school sounds great on paper, it’s just pure chaos and mutiny. It’s like a mental hospital being run by the patients.”
Donda Academy shut down last year, though the school’s staff have taken action against Kanye West. Ye’s facing a new lawsuit that alleges he only fed students sushi and prohibited outside food from entering the school. Per TMZ, two teachers, who said they were the only Black faculty members hired, filed a lawsuit against the College Dropout creator for racial discrimination and a number of other infractions related to the school.
The teachers found a number of health and safety violations during their time at Donda Academy. However, they claimed they were released from the school when they raised concerns. The lawsuit states Ye only allowed students to each sushi for lunch every day. He reportedly spent $10K a week for the lunch. Additionally, students were allegedly banned from bringing outside food or drinks into the school. As odd as this might be, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of the alleged infractions.
Kanye Banned Jewelry, Utensils & Chairs
PARIS, FRANCE – JANUARY 23: Ye is seen, outside Kenzo, during Paris Fashion Week – Menswear F/W 2022-2023, on January 23, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
The teachers claimed Kanye created incredibly strange rules for students and teachers to abide by – some of which seem unethical. Ye banned crossword puzzles and coloring books, as well as forks and utensils from classrooms. Additionally, Ye banned students from wearing jewelry and prohibited artwork from being hung on the walls. The teachers claimed that there wasn’t any lesson plan or disciplinary system in place, leading to multiple instances of physical assault on staff with no consequences.
Students allegedly weren’t allowed to sit on chairs or use tables but instead, foam cushions or stand. Teachers, on the other hand, either had to stand or use a stool. Ultimately, Kanye faces allegations that his revolutionary ways bred hostility. The school was reportedly locked from the outside during school hours and the uniform consisted of all-black attire without logos, such as Nike or Adidas, showing. Students between pre-kindergarten to grade 12 would have to take long and recess together at the same time in an indoor setting.
Teachers Claim Their Paycheques Came Short
ANAHEIM, CA – JUNE 03: Rapper Kanye West performs onstage at the Power 106 Powerhouse show at Honda Center on June 3, 2016 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Scott Dudelson/FilmMagic)
The two teachers said they tried to raise these issues in the past but faced immediate pushback. They claimed in the lawsuit that they were threatened not to reach out to Ye to have these issues addressed. The two teachers got fired from their positions, which they claim is the result of trying to amend these issues and racial discrimination. They also said that their paycheques also came short of the agreed-upon $2,700 for each pay period. We’ll keep you posted on more updates surrounding the lawsuit.
TMZ obtained a lawsuit by two female teachers — the only Black teachers working there — who were fired for calling out education, health, and safety violations. They claim their termination was due to retaliation and racial discrimination.
For starters, the only food being fed to students is apparently sushi, which has to be eaten off the floor, without any tables or chairs. Students are not permitted to bring any outside food or drink aside from water. West is allegedly spending $10,000 a week on sushi. They’re also not permitted any utensils. Also, no classes can take place on the second floor because West is “afraid of stairs.” Similarly, students aren’t allowed to wear jewelry because he “did not like jewelry.”
The dress code for students is that they must wear all black, which can be viewed in pictures on TMZ’s post. Nike and Adidas clothing is also forbidden. There’s also no janitor or a school nurse. The two teachers also alleged that their paychecks were often short up to $2,700.
