Kanye West Ex-Employee Gets $76,000 for Musician’s ‘Frivolous’ Free Speech Claim

The employee who filed a lawsuit against the artist formerly known as Kanye West has been awarded $76,245 in attorney fees after the artist attempted to dismiss her lawsuit on grounds of free speech.

Court documents obtained by Complex confirm that the Jane Doe plaintiff, who originally sought $99,720 in legal fees and costs, was awarded the money at a court hearing in Los Angeles on Thursday (Sept. 11). In the written ruling, Judge Nicholas F. Daum decided to do so after reviewing the decision of the judge before him who found Ye’s motion to strike to be a baseless stalling tactic.

Ye’s lawyer, Andrew Cherkasky, unsuccessfully argued that the court should hold on the fee order until an appeals court reviews the rapper’s failed First Amendment challenge. The judge wasn’t persuaded, arguing that the appeal may take a year or more and that the rapper could always appeal the fee award separately.

“We certainly do think there are very interesting First Amendment issues that could lead to additional appeals,” Cherkasky said at the end of the court hearing.

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“At this point, we intend to aggressively move along with litigation,” if the appellate court upholds the lawsuit, he added.

Ye was originally sued by Doe in February, when she outlined her time working for Yeezy in 2023 and 2024. In the lawsuit, the woman claimed that Ye sent her harassing texts such as, “Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler,” and ordered her to work on his Yeezy p**n concept.

Doe was allegedly fired after she reported the rapper’s behavior to her then-manager. In Ye’s motion to strike the complaint that was filed in April, the rapper claimed that Doe was attempting to “suppress” his constitutionally protected right to artistic expression.

“Ye is not merely a creator; he is art,” the filing said. “Ye’s public and private personas form a continuous, provocative performance that challenges societal taboos surrounding race, religion, gender, power, politics, and censorship.”

In June, Judge Theresa M. Traber denied the rapper’s motion, saying that it was “rife with defects, specious arguments, and misstatements of law.”

Last year, Ye faced a sexual harassment lawsuit from his former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta. She claimed that Ye hired her in 2021 and sent him explicit text messages, asked her to delete her OnlyFans account, and terminated her without paying $3 million in severance.