A former civil servant and teacher who worked at two schools founded by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is suing the artist and his Christian academies, alleging in a lawsuit filed Thursday that they had poor sanitation, electrical and window problems and a skylight. which were left empty because Ye supposedly didn’t like glass.
Isaiah Meadows, a former vice principal at Yeezy Christian Academy, the predecessor to Donda Academy, said he was suspended and then fired after complaining about conditions in Southern California schools.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, adds to a chorus of accusations against Ye and your search for what donda academy website describes it as a «mission to give young people the passion, purpose, and spiritual foundation they need to thrive in tomorrow’s world.»
In a separate lawsuit filed this year by the law firm that filed Thursday’s complaint, two former teachers accused Ye and Donda Academy of wrongful termination, painting a troubling portrait of a school they say has no medical or custodial staff, rampant bullying and rules that appeared prohibiting the use of forks and clothing that was not black or designed by Ye.
A third plaintiff was added to the lawsuit last month.
“It is absolutely appalling what is happening at this school,” Ron Zambrano, the attorney representing the plaintiffs in both lawsuits, said in a statement.
“The illegal and retaliatory behavior of Mr. West and the school principals has now been documented multiple times by other former employees who never worked together, but all experienced the same horrendous treatment and witnessed the same serious code violations. health, safety and education, while all were subjected to the same fate, unfair dismissal, and we plan to hold them accountable,» Zambrano said.
Thursday’s lawsuit, which Zambrano’s firm turned over to NBC News, alleges breach of contract, alleging that after Meadows raised concerns about health, safety and other issues in schools, he was suspended, had his pay deducted and was eventually fired.
You also failed to fulfill a promise that Yeezy Christian Academy officials would pay Meadows’ rent, the lawsuit alleges, letting him pay tens of thousands of dollars for the home he had rented in Calabasas, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
The lawsuit names Ye, Donda Academy and Yeezy Christian Academy, where Meadows said he began working as a full-time employee in late 2020, as defendants, as well as officials from both schools.
The Yeezy Christian Academy campus had no hot water and a glassless skylight, a septic tank that repeatedly overflowed and wiring so poorly that an electrical fire started near the student eating area, the lawsuit alleges.
When the school became Donda Academy and moved to another location in Simi Valley in August 2021, Meadows worked as a teacher’s aide and taught faith and physical education, according to the lawsuit.
In the first few months of school, the new campus had no electricity, so lessons were conducted using commercial flood lamps powered by a generator, the lawsuit alleges. No glass was installed in the windows, though mesh curtains were eventually added and, as on the first campus, the school’s septic tank often overflowed, according to the lawsuit.
At both schools, the lawsuit says, Meadows complained to Ye and a former administrator. He was fired without explanation in August, two weeks before the fall semester began, according to the lawsuit.
«Plaintiff MEADOWS is aware of and believes that Defendants terminated him as a result of their concerns about school operations and wage violations,» the lawsuit states.
The complaint does not specify how much Meadows is seeking. She says she wants damages for unpaid wages, lost income, and emotional distress, among other things.
An attorney for Donda has not responded to requests for comment on the lawsuits, including a request on Wednesday. Ye’s representatives and lawyers also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A lawyer for Ye, Gregory Suhr, has denied the allegations made by the former teachers, saying descriptions of the Donda Academy as a «dystopian institution designed to cater to Ye’s idiosyncrasies» were false.
“None of this is true and the allegations hurt current Donda Academy staff and students and their parents, who will attest to their positive experience,” Suhr said in a filing last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court. .
Suhr has asked the judge to throw out the claims.
Lawyers for the school have described the former teachers’ lawsuit as «fatally uncertain, ambiguous and unintelligible.»