The plaintiff, recognized in courtroom paperwork as Jane Doe, filed swimsuit final 12 months, accusing Ye of antisemitic harassment, gender-based discrimination, and retaliatory firing. The lawsuit contains textual content messages during which Ye allegedly wrote, “I am a Nazi” and “Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler.”

Ye’s authorized staff argued the lawsuit must be dismissed beneath California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which protects free speech. His attorneys claimed the messages have been a part of a “continuous, provocative performance” protected by the First Amendment. In June, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Theresa M. Traber rejected that argument, stating Ye’s conduct couldn’t be shielded by inventive expression in a personal office.

In her ruling, Judge Traber referred to as Ye’s movement “rife with defects, specious arguments and misstatements of law,” and labeled it a frivolous try to delay the case. She concluded the artist and his firm should face the allegations in courtroom and couldn’t conceal behind claims of efficiency artwork.

On July 30, Doe’s authorized staff filed a movement requesting $99,720 in attorneys’ charges for defending towards the anti-SLAPP movement. The determine accounts for 106.7 billable hours at charges between $650 and $1,100 per hour. Ye’s representatives have but to reply to the price demand. His authorized staff has appealed the decide’s ruling.

The case provides to Ye’s rising record of authorized entanglements. He misplaced main model offers with Adidas, Balenciaga, and The Gap in 2022 after making a collection of antisemitic public feedback. In February, he aired a Super Bowl advert selling merchandise bearing Nazi imagery, reigniting controversy.

Separately, Ye can be going through a number of civil lawsuits from former staffers, together with one filed by a former assistant alleging sexual assault and human trafficking.

Once a dominant pressure in music and trend, Ye now faces an more and more precarious authorized future, formed by his personal incendiary phrases and actions.