Kanye West Ordered to Pay $140K to Handyman for Botched Home Renovation While Facing Sexual Assault Allegations
- Chinyere Ibeh
- 10 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The rapper is currently on the hook for the suit surrounding a Malibu mansion while battling sexual assault allegations.
A Los Angeles jury ordered Kanye “Ye” West to pay a handyman $140K for lost wages and medical expenses related to botched renovation of a Malibu mansion.
Tony Saxon, the handyman hired by West to supervise the renovation of a $57M Malibu mansion, sued the Chicago-born rapper for not fully compensating him for his work. Saxon alleged that he was forced to sleep on the mansion floor during the renovation project. He also claimed that workers demolished parts of the mansion with no safety equipment, and West did nothing to address the complaints.
Saxon filed the lawsuit in September 2023, claiming West agreed to pay him $20K every week. He claimed the rapper only paid one $20K payment and $100K for construction costs. Saxon’s attorneys originally asked for $1.7M as a result for the suit.
Ron Zambrano, one of Saxon’s attorneys, admitted to Courthouse News that the verdict was disappointing. Though, he’s happy for Saxon as he “has some vindication.” He pointed out that his firm is allowed to seek fees, which could raise the $140K price tag.
West’s spokesperson Milo Yiannopoulos, controversial right-wing political commentator, said the decision may be “unsatisfying for everyone.” He added that it was also a “financial catastrophe” for Saxon’s attorneys, a nod to the steep difference between the original $1.7M request and the final $140K decision.
“This is not over yet,” Yiannopoulos said outside of the courthouse.
Saxon served as the project manager, working for six seven weeks until Ye demanded he cut the house’s power. Saxon would push back on the decision as he claimed that running generators would attract unwanted attention, and running generators inside would fill the mansion with carbon monoxide.
“My client didn’t want to work while breathing in carbon dioxide,” Zambrano said during his closing argument. “And he was fired. You cannot be fired for following the law.”
As this lawsuit is coming to an end, another lawsuit against the lawyer is pushing to the front.
Model Jennifer An, former American Next Top Model contestant, sued Ye in 2024 for allegedly sexually assaulting and strangling her on the set of La Roux music video. La Roux herself labeled the alleged assault as “horrific” in a DM to An.
In a new filing for the 2024 suit, An included the Instagram DM between herself and La Roux — real name Elly Jackson. The exchange shows Jackson backing up An’s claims, sharing her memories of dealing with West in the aftermath.
“I have never seen the footage (thankfully) and obviously I asked for it to never be used or for it to be seen as you were understandably very concerned about anyone or your family seeing it,” Jackson said in the messages. “I have no problem being honest about what I saw, so if you need my account of the event I’m more [than] happy to do that.”
An alleged that West arrived on set at the Chelsea Hotel and complained that he wanted the set to look more like American Psycho. West then allegedly took over creative control despite only being meant to film a cameo appearance. The rapper allegedly strangled An with one hand, then later both hands while on camera.
West not only strangled An with both hands, he allegedly proceeded to ram several fingers down her throat multiple times. An struggled to breathe, and possibly blacked out, during the alleged assault.
“This is art. This is f–king art. I am like Picasso,” West allegedly yelled out.
The “Ultralight Beam” rapper filed a motion via his attorneys to dismiss the lawsuit. West’s lawyers claimed his behavior happened while making “expressive art,” therefore his actions should be protected by free speech.
“The emulation of sexual violence for artistic purposes is not itself sexual violence, and the presence of physical contact in a stage performance does not transform expressive conduct into a crime, let alone into gender-motivated violence,” the filing claimed.
A member of An’s legal team took issue with this sentiment, providing a statement to Complex as a response to such claims.
“Labeling alleged sexual assault as ‘artisitc expression’ does not place it beyond the reach of the law,” Jesse S. Weinstein, a partner at Phillips & Associates, said in an email to the publication. “Our filings present substantial corroboration evidence, and we believe the facts will speak clearly as this case proceeds.”
In their DMs, Jackson revealed to An that West threatened her to apologize for speaking with a mutual friend about his behavior. She alleged that West wanted to remind her of his power, essentially threatening her career.
The March 10 filing also included a statement from Jackson’s makeup artist Liz Martins, who was on set during the alleged incident.
“All of a sudden, Kanye cleared the set, except for Jenn, and forcefully put his fingers down her mouth and told her to ‘suck on them.’ Kanye continued to motion his hands back and forth in Jenn’s mouth. This sexual assault was not part of the script,” Martins wrote. “Everyone on set was shocked and nervous to step in because of Kanye’s influence. Afterwards, Jenn was crying and I heard her repeatedly say, ‘My mom is going to see this. I don’t want my mom to see this.’ … It is my strong belief that Kanye West targeted and sexually assaulted Jenn because she is a female.”
Neither West nor his lawyers have publicly spoken about the lawsuit outside of their motion to dismiss it altogether.