Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, is facing allegations from a former security guard that he subjected Black employees to “less favorable treatment than their White counterparts.”
In a new lawsuit filed by Benjamin Deshon Provo — who worked security for West, 46, at both his private school Donda Academy and at a warehouse where the creative stored his Yeezy brand clothing — the security guard accuses West of having “frequently screamed at and berated Black employees” and firing him for refusing to cut his dreadlocks.
It marks the most recent complaint against West, who as of earlier this month, is already facing a complaint from another employee who claimed he suffered “severe discrimination, harassment” while working for him at the Donda Academy school and as part of his Yeezy brand.
A rep for West did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on April 27.
As for the most recent complaint — filed Friday, April 26, in Los Angeles — it notes that Provo began working for the Vultures rapper around August 2021, before spending six months at Donda Academy. The school then moved to a new location, where he was then “assigned additional job duties as a result of a lack of staffing.” He also performed security services for West’s Sunday Service events and at his Yeezy warehouse.
The plaintiff claims he was asked to place himself and paparazzi “in harm’s way” by snatching cameras, and that separately, West required that “anyone associated with Donda dispose of books related to Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and other prominent figures in the Black community.”
The complaint also claims that Provo noticed “a stark difference in the way Kanye treated Plaintiff and other Black employees” compared to their ”non-Black counterparts.” It also alleges he was paid less than non-Black employees “for no discernible reason,” and that West was “always abrupt, abrasive, and demeaning of Plaintiff and his Black counterparts.”
When complaining about the pay disparity to direct manager John Hicks, Provo allegedly received the response: “Don’t bring up money to Ye. He doesn’t like to talk about money.”
The security guard also saw a “decrease in his paychecks” at one point shortly after raising complaints, something he claims his non-Black colleagues did not experience, as he was told by Hicks that West “can’t afford security right now.”
Per the complaint, in April 2023, West “unjustifiably and unreasonably began demanding that Plaintiff and others shave their heads,” despite Provo wearing his hair in dreadlocks “as an exercise of his Muslim faith.”
“As a result of Plaintiff’s non-compliance with Kanye’s demands that his head be shaved, Hicks and Kanye began to exert pressure on Plaintiff to do the same,” the document notes, adding that “Kanye began to become increasingly more aggressive, demanding” by announcing “it is time for you to shave your heads. I am not messing around.”
The complaint explains, “However, Plaintiff refused. Thereafter, Hicks approached Plaintiff and stated, ‘Kanye said, ‘Tell the one with the dreads to shave his head or he is fired.’ Plaintiff refused to shave his head, and as a result thereof, his employment was terminated.”
The complaint also notes that Provo is seeking damages for the alleged discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environment, labor code violations and for attorney fees (among his other claims), as well as a “preliminary and permanent injunction, and a public injunction, against all Defendants, prohibiting them from owning and operating any type of educational school for minor children under the age of 18 years in the state of California.”
West is also currently at the center of a suit filed by former employee Trevor Phillips, who alleged earlier this month that West spewed hateful, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric within earshot of students, and that West once told students he would put a jail at the school where they could be locked in cages.
The previous suit also claimed that the musician would often “scream [at] and berate” his Black employees and that he told his staffers he would fire people who were “fat,” adding that he allegedly told students he “wanted them to shave their heads.”