Kanye West has found himself in the middle of another lawsuit, and this time it’s over his controversial school Donda Academy.
Last week, two former teachers, Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers, at the school filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court over discrimination, unsuitable working conditions, wrongful termination, and withheld wages.
Speaking to The Los Angeles Times, Hailey explained she was hired at Donda Academy last fall as a substitute teacher – the same time that Kanye made headlines for erratic behavior, including anti-semitic and anti-Black comments.
Though Hailey says the children weren’t taught anything anti-Semitic or political in the curriculum, she claims the school was strict about what sort of history could be discussed.
“They definitely wanted to suppress a lot of information in reference to history,” she explained. “They didn’t want the kids to know really about African American history or Asian American history.”
The lawsuit also takes issue with the fact that Donda Academy didn’t have a janitorial service, and Kanye banned the use of traditional cleaning products. The school also didn’t have an on-site nurse, medical supplies, or protocols around bullying.
Moreover, the lawsuit claims the quality of food being served to the children was concerning. The children were allegedly only offered sushi at lunch on a daily basis and made to eat on the floor, not tables.
The students were also prohibited from bringing any outside food or drinks onto the campus, except for water.
“We are responsible to make sure that we’re giving children a quality education, and when you don’t, you are really disturbing the life of that child,” Hailey went on. “That’s just not right.”
Donda Academy has been met with controversy since Kanye opened the school in 2022, largely due to its uncredited status.
In October, an email was sent to the parents of students announcing the academy would be shutting down for the remainder of the school year. "At the discretion of our Founder, Donda Academy will close for the remainder of the 2022-2023 school year effective immediately,” it said. “THERE IS NO SCHOOL TOMORROW."
However, only hours later, Kanye issued an email retracting the previous statement, and saying that school was back on.
The lawsuit against Kanye and Donda Academy remains ongoing, but it’s not the only one the rapper has been recently hit with. He’s currently fighting a $250 million defamation case filed by George Floyd’s family last year as well as a civil suit filed by his former manager over unpaid wages.
Sources: The Los Angeles Times, TMZ,
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