- Kanye West’s Donda Academy is being sued by two former teachers for racial discrimination and wrongful termination
- A bombshell lawsuit obtained by DailyMail.com makes numerous bizarre and disturbing allegations against the secret school’s practices
- It is alleged that the students received a single meal a day of sushi, while classes were banned from the second floor due to West’s “afraid of stairs”.
Kanye West’s Donda Academy is being sued by two former teachers for wrongful termination in a bombastic lawsuit as the educators made a series of disturbing allegations about what was really going on at the school.
Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com detail the allegations by Cecilia Hailey and her daughter Chekarey Byers, who claim to have seen children at the secret academy being fed just one meal of sushi a day while sitting on the floor .
They allege they faced discrimination based on their race, were illegally denied wages and were fired from the school in retaliation for reporting code violations.
Among the bizarre and disturbing allegations against the school are that all colors, including artwork, have been banned from classrooms, everyone has been forced to wear head-to-toe black, and classes on the second floor have been banned because West is “afraid of.” stairs ‘had’.
The $15,000-a-year academy, which Byers described as “like a mental institution run by patients,” opened in California in 2021 by West directors.
Kanye West faces a string of bombastic allegations related to practices at his Donda Academy school. Pictured: Kanye West stops to chat with the paparazzi and sign autographs as he leaves his daughter North’s basketball game in Thousand Oaks in October 2022. He is ‘afraid of stairs’. Pictured: Ariel Images and general views show the Simi Valley site, where West’s Donda Academy was once located
Shortly after taking a job as a fifth-grade teacher in January 2023, Byers claims she began noticing numerous troubling rules and practices within the school, including rampant bullying and the lack of any safety measures in the high-profile academy.
After school principal Moira Love raised concerns about the repeated health and safety violations and unlawful educational practices, the lawsuit says “no action was taken” to address the issues.
In addition to claiming that the students received only one sushi meal per day, they were also prohibited from bringing any food or drink onto campus other than water.
“It was common knowledge that West spends $10,000 a week on sushi,” the lawsuit states.
Students were reportedly banned from using “crossword puzzles” or “coloring sheets,” while West would not allow schoolchildren to go outside during the day, even for lunch or recess.
The rapper would also ban all classes from being held on the second floor of the academy because “he was reportedly afraid of stairs,” according to the lawsuit.
According to previous reports, the school’s parents had to sign non-disclosure agreements in order to enroll their children in the academy.
In October, parents at the school revolted after hearing that Donda Academy was closing its doors after a series of anti-Semitic outbursts amid the collapse of West’s empire, prompting it to remain open.
Although it was previously believed that the exclusive Christian school would close its doors, it was revealed last year that the secret academy had actually moved its location to Simi Valley.
Students at West’s Donda Academy wear Balenciaga uniforms designed by West himself. The lawsuit alleges they were forced to wear black exclusively. Pictured: Boston Celtics player Jaylen Brown with a group of Donda students during a visit to the academy. The school reportedly had about 100 students and 16 teachers enrolled, some of whom were children of celebrities. Pictured: Boston Celtics player Jaylen Brown with a group of Donda students during a visit to the Academy
The couple claim West “didn’t want kids using forks or cutlery,” and he required cups and bowls to be grey-only.
The Yeezy fashion mogul also reportedly “didn’t like jewelry,” which led him to ban teachers and children from wearing jewelry, while chairs were also banned at the academy, as he forced kids to either sit or stand on foam cushions.
The former teachers allege that a number of health and safety codes were also repeatedly breached at the school, including doors at the academy being locked from the outside, which would pose a fire hazard.
Byers and Hailey, who say they were the only two black teachers at the school, are seeking wrongful termination damages after allegedly facing racial discrimination.
This included exposing them to “stereotypes about African American women as being confrontational” after raising concerns about the school’s practices.
When Hailey threatened to escalate her grievances directly to West in the hierarchy, “she was threatened not to contact him,” the lawsuit states.
“We stand up because it’s the right thing to do. It’s not about defaming a celebrity. That’s about right for these kids,” Hailey said.
Both women claim they were fired “without reason” in the academy parking lot on March 3, 2023. Dailymail.com has been told the plaintiffs are now seeking over $1 million in damages.
West is being sued for over $1 million in the bombshell lawsuit. Pictured: Kanye West is seen leaving VOGUE World: New York in September 2022. Allegations against the rapper’s school included forbidding students from going outside, even during breaks. Pictured: Ariel Images and general views show the Simi Valley site, where West’s Donda Academy was once located
The lawsuit further alleges that teachers were not trained in basic life support, there were no nursing staff on campus, and lack of security allowed strangers to pick up students off campus without a registration process.
According to the lawsuit, rampant bullying and assaults were common at the school because there were no disciplinary procedures in place to address them.
Additionally, the lawsuit bizarrely alleges that there were no housekeeping staff at the academy because West “didn’t believe in chemical-based cleaning supplies, so teachers were only allowed to clean with acidic water and microfiber towels.”
The rapper reportedly banned the wearing of Nike and Adidas on campus as he allegedly insisted that everyone only wear their designer clothes in all black “from head to toe”.
“Clearly, Kanye West is just as bad at running a school as he is at managing his own personal and professional life by enabling an unsafe and illegal school environment for students that also discriminates against the plaintiffs on the basis of their race,” the attorney for the plaintiffs said couple, Ron Zambrano.
“These egregious violations at Donda Academy are just another example of West’s unusual behavior and our customers simply will not put up with it, regardless of his celebrity status.
“Kanye needs to realize that his genius is in creating music, not in school administration.”
West has reportedly banned all paint from classrooms, including artwork, and has banned chairs and jewelry. Pictured: Kanye West on October 21, 2022 in Los Angeles, California
Of the lawsuit, Byers said, “I am very saddened by all of this. It has been a great honor and privilege to work for Kanye West at Donda Academy.
“I’m a huge Kanye fan. His first album was the first I ever bought. I still enjoy his music and I will never deny his talent, but while his vision for the school sounds great on paper, it’s just pure chaos and mutiny.
“It’s like a psychiatric hospital run by the patients.”
The scandal-hit rapper has had numerous issues with his Christian private school since the facility opened in 2021.
After the rapper’s anti-Semitic outbursts made headlines and led to the collapse of his music, fashion, and real estate empires, Donda Academy’s Jewish employees resigned in droves.
Poet Malik Yusef, who previously posed as the school’s “administrator,” told the New York Post in November how “staff members of the Jewish faith have been lost in the weeks” since the artist became involved in several discriminatory tirades.