Kanye West’s private school accused of locking children inside, feeding them only sushi
Kanye West’s private school accused of locking children inside, feeding them only sushi
Academy in California’s Simi Valley allege they were fired after complaining about potential dangers to students including code violations, according to the LA County wrongful termination suit.
The educators, Cecilia Hailey and her daughter Chekarey Byers, claim during their time at the little-known school, it was locked from outside with kids forced to remain indoors all day, creating a fire hazard, according to the suit.
Medications were also stored haphazardly, there was no school nurse on site, and janitorial services were forbidden because “West did not believe in cleaning products containing chemicals,” the lawsuit states.
“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,” attorney Ron Zambrano, a lawyer for the teachers, said in a statement.
“Kanye needs to realize his genius is in creating music, not in school administration.”
Kanye West’s private Christian school was sued by two former teachers.Getty Images
Kanye West’s school allegedly had safety and health violation along with some strange rules.GC Images
At the non-accredited school, named after the troubled rapper’s late mother, there are no tables or chairs and students are instructed to sit on the floor to eat sushi for lunch every day — an expense West spent $10,000 per week on, according to the suit.
Other strange rules included crossword puzzles and artwork are not allowed to be hung on walls and students being barred from the second floor because West “was reportedly afraid of stairs,” according to the suit.
The school also failed to follow nutritional guidelines and had a lack of security, with students allowed to be picked up by strangers, the court papers state.
Reportedly, Donda Academy locked the students in from the outside.no [email protected] / BACKGRID
In early 2023, Hailey and Byers, who are both black, complained to Donda Academy’s principal that the school had “unlawful educational practices.”
During the meeting, they cited lack of discipline that had allegedly led to “severe bullying…that had gone without” punishment, along with concerns about the school’s cleanliness.
Instead of taking action, the principal allegedly called Byers and Hailey “aggressive,” and “facilitate[d] stereotypes about African American women as being confrontational simply for doing their job,” according to the lawsuit, which alleges racial discrimination.
Students at Donda Academy reportedly were fed sushi for every meal.GC Images
On March 3, 2023, they were both fired and given no reason for the termination, according to court documents.
Their lawsuit, which names Donda Academy, West and directors of the school, seeks “general damages not limited to emotional distress” but doesn’t specify a dollar amount.
