A jury set to determine whether Black employees at Donda Academy were treated differently from their white coworkers may not get to see some of Kanye West’s most controversial public remarks. His legal team is asking a Los Angeles judge to exclude hundreds of pages of social media posts from the upcoming discrimination trial, arguing that his statements about Nazis, Adolf Hitler, and other topics are unrelated to the employment issues the jury will be considering.
The legal battle stems from Benjamin Provo’s 2024 lawsuit over his time working security for Donda Academy and Yeezy. Provo claims he faced racial and religious discrimination while working for Ye, alleging that Black employees were treated worse than their white counterparts. He also alleges he was fired after refusing a request to cut his locs, which he wore as part of his Muslim faith. Ye has denied the accusations.
Ye’s legal team is pushing back against evidence that Benjamin Provo plans to present during the trial. According to court documents reviewed by Complex and TMZ, the contested material covers 919 pages and includes posts allegedly made by Ye, along with content linked to former employees and outside accounts.
Among the posts are statements where Ye reportedly identified himself as a Nazi, expressed praise for Adolf Hitler, and an Instagram image featuring Nazi clothing.
The defense is not arguing that the posts were not offensive. Instead, Ye’s attorneys claim the material could influence jurors to focus on his public image rather than the specific workplace conduct at the center of Provo’s lawsuit. They argue that some of the posts were made before or after Provo worked for him, while others may have come from third-party accounts that would need to be verified first.
Ye’s lawyers have asked Judge Brock T. Hammond to either block the evidence from being shown at trial or require Provo’s legal team to prove why the material is relevant before it reaches the jury.
Provo’s allegations are also not the only claims Ye has faced from former employees. Weeks earlier, Trevor Phillips, another former Black employee of Yeezy and Donda Academy, filed a separate lawsuit accusing Ye of treating Black workers differently from their white colleagues. Phillips’ lawsuit included allegations of racial discrimination and antisemitic remarks allegedly made in the workplace. Ye has denied the claims in that case as well.
The court has not made a decision yet on whether the disputed social media evidence will be allowed in the trial. Provo’s case is expected to proceed to trial later this year.
