Rapper Kanye West, also known as Ye, is being sued $7.1m (£6m/€7m) by Los Angeles-based production company Phantom Labs over claims of unpaid fees for a series of events.
Variety reported that the lawsuit was filed yesterday (Thursday) at Los Angeles County’s Superior Court, and that West and his team owe Phantom Labs for fees on his ‘Donda 2’ livestream, his cancelled Coachella 2022 performance and last year’s ‘Free Larry Hoover’ concert with Drake.
The production company is also suing over a number of West’s Sunday Services performances and the rapper’s studio spaces. Phantom Labs alleges that it was assured unpaid bills would be settled once West collected his Coachella fee of $9m.
However, the rapper cancelled his performance and the company has said it was already owed for past collaborations and that it had also paid other vendors for the cancelled appearance.
West allegedly hired Phantom Labs in October last year to run a renovation project at an LA-based warehouse he had purchased. The rapper was aiming to convert the property into an office and creative space. He also allegedly hired Phantom Labs to produce four Sunday Service events in November 2021 and that the company has not been paid for either project.
The company also said that it was involved in the production of West’s ‘Donda 2’ livestream party in Miami this year. Phantom Labs says it is owed $2.2m for this and that it was hit with over $1m in cancellation fees after West pulled out of his Coachella set in April.
A Phantom Labs spokesperson told Variety: “We are incredibly proud of the work that we did with Ye and are disappointed that such a fruitful relationship has come to this.
“A celebrity weaponising fame and reputation to take advantage of eager collaborators is simply unacceptable.”
Image: Jason Persse/CC BY-SA 2.0 /Edited for size
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