Kanye West faces a lawsuit from a security guard named Jonathan Monroe, who says the rapper never paid him for the hours he worked for him – and fired him when he asked to be paid.
In legal docs reviewed Tuesday by TMZ, Monroe said West, 47, told him in August of 2021 he would pay him a $30 hourly wage to provide security at a Malibu, California home he unsuccessfully tried to renovate.
Monroe said in legal docs that he racked up between 36-50 hours weekly working for the Grammy-winning artist, whose career has dipped amid a torrent of anti-Semitic remarks he’s made since the fall of 2022 .
Monroe told the court he was never paid a penny for his work and time, and in October of 2021 had been fired from the job after complaining about the lack of payment.
Monroe is suing West for unpaid wages, interest on the sum and punitive damages in the suit, which comes three years after the short-lived gig.
Kanye West, 47, faces a lawsuit from a security guard named Jonathan Monroe, who says the rapper never paid him for the hours he worked for him – and fired him when he asked to be paid. Pictured in LA in May
Monroe said West told him in August of 2021 he would pay him a $30 hourly wage to provide security at a Malibu, California home he unsuccessfully tried to renovate
In July, West finally offloaded his Malibu mansion after slashing the asking price by a whopping $14 million.
The final price the mansion sold for was estimated as around $21 million, TMZ reported.
The Heartless rapper initially purchased the home in 2021 which was designed by Japanese architect, Tadao Ando. Photos published in June showed the beachfront home completely gutted with no windows.
In online records obtained by TMZ, West’s mansion went into escrow in July. The property – which has four bedrooms and five bathrooms – was originally listed for $53 million, but in April of this year, the music artist cut down the asking price astronomically to $39 million.
West began construction work but did not complete project on the 4,000 square foot home, which sits adjacent to the Pacific Ocean.
One of the workers that had been hired to help gut the abode told The New Yorker in June that West had wanted to create a ‘bomb shelter’ and his ‘Batcave.’
Kulapat Yantrasat – an architect – also told the publication, ‘To be honest, he did not like the house – he did not like the interior.’
Originally, the mansion – which has no plumbing or electricity – had been painted a white color on the back portion and contained floor-to-ceiling windows on each level.
West, seen in February in Milan, is being sued for unpaid wages, interest on the sum and punitive damages in the suit, which comes three years after the short-lived gig
In online records obtained by TMZ, West’s mansion went into escrow this past summer
Photos taken in July revealed that the glass windows had been taken out, leaving a clear view of the empty, concrete walls and floors
The Grammy-winning artist notably brought Selling Sunset realtor Jason Oppenheim into the fold in his effort to sell the home late last year, TMZ previously reported in April
Photos snapped in July revealed that the glass windows had been taken out, leaving a clear view of the empty, concrete walls and floors.
West notably brought Selling Sunset realtor Jason Oppenheim into the fold in his effort to sell the home late last year, TMZ previously reported in April.
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Oppenheim told the outlet that he was optimistic at the chances of selling the distressed property in the high-end area, likening the abode to ‘basically a blank canvas’ for prospective purchasers.
The Carnival artist, who bought the home for $57 million in late 2021, was previously unable to remodel it into a ‘bomb shelter’ after getting famed Japanese architect Ando involved in the remodeling process.
The lawsuit from Monroe is the latest in a number of headaches linked to West’s ill-fated project for the home in the upscale Southern California beach town.
West was also sued by the former manager of the remodel project, Tony Saxon, who claims he was fired after he ‘expressed concerns about the extreme danger’ of the project.
In September 2023, sources told TMZ that West wanted to remove the windows and electricity from the home in order to turn it into ‘a bomb shelter from the 1910s.’
In Saxon’s lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, he stated that he was hired for the project in September 2021, and worked 16-hour days on the beach house.
In September 2023, sources told TMZ that West wanted to remove the windows and electricity from the home in order to turn it into ‘a bomb shelter from the 1910s’
He claimed he was sleeping on the floor of the home as he worked as ‘project manager, caretaker and 24/7 security’ for the property.
Saxon alleged that West only paid him for one week of work and ignored all his concerns, until finally he was fired in November 2021, after refusing to remove the home’s windows and electricity.
In the lawsuit, Saxon said the rapper’s vision for the home was to make something like ‘a bomb shelter from the 1910s’, according to NBC News, and demolish the marble bathrooms, as well as remove the windows, plumbing and electricity.
He also reportedly wanted to replace the stairs with slides.
Saxon reportedly sued West for a number of labor code violations, more than $1 million in unpaid wages, and damages.
‘We were going to be gutting all of that out and sort of building him a Bat Cave,’ Saxon explained, adding the rapper wanted a place he could ‘hide from the Clintons in and the Kardashians in.’
While Saxon believed the home was more of an ‘art project’ he later came to realize West actually wanted to live in it.
He said West ‘wanted no electricity. He only wanted plants. He only wanted candles. He only wanted battery lights. And he just wanted to have everything open and dark.’