Ye’s Ex-Publicist Wants Him to Pay $100K She Spent Fighting His ‘Absurd’ Motion in Antisemitism Lawsuit

A Jewish publicist suing Ye (formerly Kanye West) for antisemitism is demanding that the rapper repay nearly $100,000 incurred by her legal team in fending off a “frivolous and absurd” motion that argued, unsuccessfully, that artistic freedom allows Ye to call himself a “Nazi” and “Hitler” with no legal recourse.

The development stems from Ye’s attempt to throw out the antisemitism lawsuit under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which guards against legal action that threatens free speech. Ye’s attorneys argued that the rapper’s private conversations — including text messages where he told his Jewish publicist “I am a Nazi” and “Welcome to the first day of working for Hitler” — are part of a “continuous, provocative performance” that amounts to First Amendment-protected artistic expression.

A judge summarily rejected this argument in June, saying Ye and his company “cannot insulate themselves from defending against allegations of blatantly antisemitic and misogynous harassment and an unashamedly discriminatory and retaliatory firing of plaintiff by simply claiming that defendant Ye’s every word and action, even in a private workplace, is a work of art.”

Judge Theresa M. Traber said Ye’s anti-SLAPP motion was “rife with defects, specious arguments and misstatements of law” that suggest the filing was “frivolous and brought for the purpose of delaying the litigation of this action, rather than to raise serious concerns about free speech.” Therefore, said the judge, the publicist (suing anonymously under the moniker Jane Doe) is entitled to a refund of the legal fees her attorneys racked up defending against this motion.

Doe’s lawyers now say in a July 30 motion that these fees amount to $99,720. This figure was calculated using hourly rates for four attorneys at the law firm Shegerian & Associates, which range from $650 to $1,100.

“Plaintiff seeks attorney’s fees for 106.7 hours of work, which represents reasonable time actually spent opposing a half-baked anti-SLAPP motion,” says the court filing.

Reps for Ye did not return a request for comment on Monday (Aug. 4). The rapper’s lawyers are appealing Judge Traber’s decision not to throw out the case under the anti-SLAPP statute.

The publicist’s antisemitism claims are part of a stream of backlash that Ye has faced for his rampant anti-Jewish rhetoric in recent years. He lost much of his once-formidable business empire, including fashion partnerships with Adidas, The Gap and Balenciaga, after a string of antisemitic public comments in 2022. And Ye’s behavior has not changed; earlier this year, he ran a Super Bowl ad that directed viewers to buy shirts emblazoned with swastikas.

Meanwhile, Ye is also facing an onslaught of civil lawsuits from multiple former employees who claim they were mistreated by the rapper. In one notable case, a former assistant alleges Ye trafficked and sexually assaulted her.