Kanye West’s Ex-Staffer Moves to Block Insanity Defense in Discrimination Lawsuit

Kanye West’s former staffer is making moves in court to prevent the musician from claiming he wasn’t in his right mind as a defense in their legal battle.

Benjamin Provo, who worked at Ye’s Donda Academy in 2021, is suing the rapper for discrimination, claiming he was fired for his dreadlocks and that Ye treated Black employees more harshly than White employees. In court documents obtained, Provo is asking the judge to block Ye from claiming he was of “unsound mind” during the alleged discrimination. Provo argues that Ye never produced any documents or testimony about the issue during the discovery process and failed to turn over medical records or select an expert witness to testify about the impact of his mental health.

Provo also points to Ye’s own deposition testimony as evidence that he was of sound mind. When asked, “Do you feel like around the time you had the school, you were not yourself around that time?” Kanye replied, “No. I think that was close to me being myself, but people change, though, too,” adding, “sometimes I intend to do good and still end up in deposition.” He also admitted to liking employees to have a “uniform look” but denied firing Provo over his dreads.

The case is one of several legal challenges Ye is facing. He is also asking the court to block evidence of his social media posts praising Nazis and Hitler. The trial is currently scheduled for October, and Ye has denied all claims in the lawsuit.