Kanye West faces allegations from security guard for ‘less favourable treatment’

A former security guard has accused Ye, the singer formerly known as Kanye West, of giving Black personnel “less favourable treatment than their White counterparts.”

The security guard, Benjamin Deshon Provo, filed a new lawsuit alleging that West, 46, “frequently screamed at and berated Black employees” and fired him for refusing to cut his dreadlocks.

Provo worked security for West at both his private school, Donda Academy, and a warehouse where the creative kept his Yeezy brand clothing.

As of earlier this month, West was already dealing with a complaint from another employee that he experienced “severe discrimination, harassment” while working for him at the Donda Academy school and as part of his Yeezy brand. This is the most recent complaint against West.

According to the most recent complaint, which was submitted on Friday, April 26, in Los Angeles, Provo started working for the rapper Vultures in August 2021 and then attended Donda Academy for six months. 

After the school relocated, he was “assigned additional job duties as a result of a lack of staffing” at the new location. In addition, he provided security for West’s Sunday Service events and his warehouse for Yeezy.

In addition, the plaintiff says that West demanded 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 plaintiff claims he was directed to put himself and the paparazzi “in harm’s way” by grabbing cameras.

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.”

Provo apparently received the following response from direct manager John Hicks after complaining about the compensation disparity: “Don’t bring up money to Ye. He doesn’t like to talk about money.”

West “unjustifiably and unreasonably began demanding that Plaintiff and others shave their heads,” according to the complaint, even though Provo wore his hair in dreadlocks “as an exercise of his Muslim faith” in April 2023.