Ye's Malibu Mansion Demolition: Worker Claims Injury, Rapper's Team Alleges Extortion
A construction worker, Tony Saxon, is suing Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) over alleged injuries sustained while working on the rapper's Malibu mansion. The trial is underway in Los Angeles, with conflicting accounts of the events.
Was Kanye West's vision for his $57.3 million Tadao Ando-designed Malibu mansion a catalyst for a construction worker's injuries, or is it a case of fabricated claims against the wealthy artist? This is the central question in the trial of Tony Saxon vs. Ye, currently unfolding in downtown Los Angeles.
Tony Saxon's lawyer painted a picture of Ye as a demanding figure whose radical redesign of the beachfront property led to Saxon's physical and financial distress. Ye's defense counters that Saxon, an unlicensed independent contractor, was well-compensated for his work and is now seeking undue compensation for self-inflicted issues.
"Like the rest of us, Tony is not perfect. Like the rest of us, he has weaknesses. But he’s intensely loyal, intensely hard-working. He shows up and works hard. And he’s bi-polar. He goes through high highs and low lows,” Saxon’s lawyer, Ron Zambrano, told the jury.
Zambrano stated that Ye's current wife, Bianca Censori, initially contacted Saxon for interior work based on a referral. At the time, Censori was working for Ye and pursuing her architectural license. Saxon was then hired as a project manager, security guard, and live-in caretaker at the concrete home along the Pacific Ocean.
According to Zambrano, Ye arrived one morning in a Lamborghini and took Saxon to breakfast at McDonald's. "Ye notices Saxon doesn’t smell good [because] he’s living on the floor. He invites him to the Nobu [hotel], and the 22-time Grammy winner, global icon, then husband of Kim Kardashian draws Mr. Saxon a bath, lends him clothes, and then sends him back to the house,” the lawyer said. At the time, Saxon thought Ye was “a nice guy,” the lawyer added.
Ye's vision, according to Zambrano, was to transform the property into an "off-the-grid shelter" with an ultra-minimalist aesthetic. This involved removing toilets, plumbing, windows, electrical outlets, wiring, a jacuzzi, and fireplaces. Zambrano claimed Saxon injured his back while removing chimney stacks.
Zambrano further alleged that Ye wanted to replace cement steps with a three-story slide into a pool and that Saxon was asked to oversee work without permits. After a neighbor (identified as an Israeli ambassador) complained about noise, Saxon allegedly tried to befriend him. Zambrano stated that Saxon was fired after raising concerns about carbon monoxide poisoning from generators and is still owed $75,000 for completed work, with injuries preventing him from working as a rare-records dealer.
"Ye didn’t just dismantle this beach house, he dismantled the rule book," Zambrano argued. "[Saxon] was in the way, and he was removed."
Ye's lawyer, Andrew Cherkasky, presented a contrasting narrative, portraying Saxon as being well-compensated for six weeks of work on the "architectural gem" that Ye admired. Cherkasky claimed Ye envisioned a beach camping-style living arrangement with his children. Saxon was hired to perform "renovation prep work" but instead "destroyed the Ando house."
Cherkasky argued that Saxon wanted to keep the project "under the radar" due to concerns about building inspectors discovering his lack of a license.
"It was Saxon who set for himself an impossible standard. He wanted to work 24/7. He wanted to camp at the house. He wanted to be the guy in charge," Cherkasky said. "Ye will tell you he was shocked hearing there was no bathroom there. … Nobody asked [Saxon] to stay there, certainly not overnight.”
Cherkasky stated that Saxon later told a mental health professional that he had quit his job with Ye, and there is no medical record of Saxon being injured on the job.
"[Saxon] claimed he broke his neck working for Ye. He did not," Cherkasky asserted. "He’s a guy who had almost nothing who came across an opportunity to work for a billionaire." Cherkasky suggested that Saxon saw an opportunity to file a claim after Ye experienced his "own bipolar place." He concluded that the case hinges on credibility.
Saxon initially filed his lawsuit in 2023, claiming he was working as an employee of Ye's property company when he injured his back and was encouraged to continue working. He also claimed he was fired for raising safety concerns.
"He goes, ‘If you don’t do what I asked you to do, you’re a Clinton. You’re a Kardashian. You’re an enemy and I’m not going to be a friend anymore. I’m not going to provide you with an opportunity anymore. You’re only going to see me on TV,’” Saxon previously told Rolling Stone. “I said to him, ‘I don’t watch TV’ and he said, ‘Get the fuck out.’ And that was it.”
Ye's spokesman, Milo Yiannopoulos, attended the first two days of the trial. During jury selection, potential jurors expressed disapproval of Ye and his antisemitic statements. The selected jurors affirmed their ability to set aside personal opinions and follow the law. A verdict requires agreement from nine of the 12 jurors.
Saxon's case is the first to reach a jury among several civil complaints filed by people who worked for Ye over the past six years. Ye, 48, faced numerous lawsuits following a Twitter tirade in October 2022, including his plan to “go death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE.” Rolling Stone published an investigation into the allegedly “toxic” work environment at his Yeezy label, where Ye purportedly told one staffer that “skinheads and Nazis were his greatest inspiration.” Ye later apologized in an Instagram post written in Hebrew but again promoted antisemitic ideology, sporting a T-shirt for the Norwegian metal musician Burzum, who has been fined for antisemitism. Ye also promoted Vultures 1 with artwork that seem to nod toward Burzum’s cover art.
Last month, Ye purchased a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal to apologize again for his antisemitic remarks. In the statement, titled “To Those I’ve Hurt,” he coupled his apology with a discussion of his struggle with bipolar disorder, stating that he was not properly diagnosed until 2023 and that head trauma from a 2002 car accident contributed to manic episodes and statements he now regrets.
Ye and Censori are both expected to testify at the trial, which is estimated to last another 10 days.
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