Kanye West Sued By Fired Donda Teachers, Who Claim Students Were At Risk From Safety Violations

The two plaintiffs — who were reportedly the only Black female teachers at the Donda Academy — also believe they were racially discriminated against.

Kanye West, his Donda Academy, and the school’s directors are being sued by two former Donda Academy teachers for discrimination and wrongful termination, according to a lawsuit document obtained by HollywoodLife via the PR firm representing the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Ron Zambrano. The plaintiffs, Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers claimed in legal documents obtained by the outlet that they were fired on March 3, 2023.  They alleged that their firing was in retaliation for reporting safety code violations, that they were discriminated against due to their race, and that their received wages “were untimely or inaccurate” on several occasions. “No action was taken to remedy plaintiffs’ complaints regarding sanitation, health, safety or education standard pursuant to local and state law, which plaintiffs made throughout the entirety of their employment,” the lawsuit reads.

As far as the code violations go, the Simi Valley, Calif. school allegedly failed to give students in need of personalized education plans, appropriate services, per the court document. There was also no pick-up policy, meaning that seemingly anyone could take a student from the school without prior authorization from parents. The lawsuit also claims that “bullying” at the school was common and that students were not properly disciplined. As well, “Donda Academy was not operating as a proper school, as it did not have any janitorial services, it did not have a school nurse on staff or medical access, it was not following nutrition guidelines, and it did not have any security precautions,” Hailey and Byers claimed in the suit.

The precautions that were in place, however, are seemingly unusual for a school. While there is a second floor in the school, for instance, classes were reportedly barred from taking place on the second level because the Life of Pablo artist is “reportedly afraid of stairs”, the fired teachers claimed. Kids were also banned from completing crossword puzzles and coloring pages, using any utensils, and wearing jewelry (the staff had to follow this rule as well).

Furthermore, the school had a strict all-black dress code with specifically approved brands — Nike and Adidas apparel were prohibited. As fans may recall, Adidas severed their nearly decade-long relationship with Kanye for his antisemitic remarks last fall. “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness,” the popular sneaker and clothing brand announced. 

The company projected up to a $250 million loss in 2022, and they have certainly felt the impact. Their projected loss from the demise of their YEEZY sneaker collaboration with the rapper in 2023 is $398 million, per Forbes. This puts their projected loss at about $645 million.

As for Nike, Kanye originally created his super successful YEEZY line with the company, but left in 2013 for a more lucrative deal with Adidas.

Adding on to the list of head-turning rules and regulations by which staff and students reportedly had to abide was an indoor-only school day — even during recess and lunchtime. “The school was physically locked from the outside during the school day … Students were not allowed to go outside,” the lawsuit claims. Colors were reportedly not allowed in the classrooms — including typical educational posters — and the classrooms were only allowed to be cleaned with “acid water and microfiber cloths”, as Kanye “did not believe in cleaning products containing chemicals.” Furthermore, tables and chairs were reportedly not provided at all, so students had to “sit on foam cushions or stand, and teachers had to stand or use a stool.”

One reported rule that has people on social media amused is that the only lunch food available for students every single day of the week was sushi. No outside food or beverages are permitted besides water, the plaintiffs claimed.

Hailey also alleged that she “was threatened not to reach out” to Kanye about the concerns she and Byers brought up to the school’s principal. The suit claims Hailey and Byers were fired soon after they voiced their concerns. “I’m just tired of the rhetoric being that Black women who are competent are seen as aggressive,” Hailey explained in a press release obtained by HollywoodLife. “We’re standing up because it’s the right thing to do,” she continued. “This is not about trying to defame a celebrity. This is about the right thing to do for these children.”

“I’m extremely sad about all of this,” she added in a statement obtained by Page Six. “It was such a huge honor and privilege to work at Donda Academy for Kanye West. I’m a huge Kanye fan. His first album was the first I ever purchased … I’ll 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 mental hospital being run by the patients.”

“Kanye West is clearly as bad at running a school as he is at managing his own personal and professional life, enabling an unsafe and illegal school environment for students that also discriminated against the plaintiffs based on their race,” Hailey and Byers’ attorney stated in a press release. “These egregious violations at Donda Academy are just another example of West’s unusual behavior, and our clients just won’t stand for it, no matter his celebrity status. Kanye needs to realize his genius is in creating music, not in school administration.”

The school’s directors named in the suit include Brianne Campbell, Chris Julian, and Allison Tidwell. Kanye West has not publicly discussed the lawsuit as of this writing. HollywoodLife has reached out to Kanye’s representatives for comment and tried obtaining the court documents.