Kanye West says he will counter-sue former assistant claiming she ‘pursued him sexually’ for blackmail
Kanye West has issued a lengthy response to the lawsuit from his former assistant who is suing him for sexual harassment and wrongful termination.
The disgraced rapper and fashion mogul, 46, is being sued by Lauren Pisciotta, 35, who says she was hired as West’s “Executive Assistant/Personal Assistant” in 2021 with an annual salary of $1m (£781,450).
She says West, who legally changed his name to Ye in 2021, bombarded her with explicit messages and, in one incident, masturbated in front of her after offering her $1m to delete her OnlyFans account in 2022.
In a statement to The Independent, Ye’s legal representative says they are preparing a countersuit.
“In response to these baseless allegations, Ye will be filing a lawsuit against Ms. Pisciotta, who actively pursued him sexually to coerce employment and other material benefits, then engaged in blackmail and extortion when her advances were rejected,” the statement read.
West’s team said she was terminated for being unqualified for the position and demanding unreasonable sums of money, allegedly asking for a $4 million annual salary. They also accused her of “lascivious, unhinged conduct.”
The rapper’s team also said she had “demanded money and material items, namely Hermes Birkin bags, a Lamborghini and an endless quest for plastic surgery.”
Pisciotta said in her lawsuit that she had worked in the music industry for 15 years prior to being hired by West, and had collaborated with him on season one of his Yeezy women’s fashion line. She alleges she also contributed toward three songs on his album Donda, which was released in 2021.
In the lawsuit, Pisciotta said she was making an additional $1m from OnlyFans, the subscriber platform that hosts predominantly adult content, before West asked her to delete it.
Pisciotta has claimed that West would call her under the guise of discussing work-related matters only then to masturbate while on the phone with her.
Another incident allegedly saw West lock Pisciotta in a room with him during a flight to Paris, claiming that he needed to talk to her, before lying down on his bed and masturbating under the covers until he fell asleep while she sat in a chair across from him.
Pisciotta said in the lawsuit that she was promoted to Chief of Staff for West’s various companies around September 2022 and that she was told that she would receive an additional $3m (£2.3m). However, the following month, she claimed that she was fired and offered a $3m severance package, which she did not receive.
She is suing West for sexual harassment, breach of contract and wrongful termination, and is also suing West and his affiliated Yeezy companies for fraud, unpaid wages, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
