Kanye West LOSES civil case over $57m house

Controversial US rapper Kanye West - now known as Ye - has been ordered to pay $140,000 to a man he hired to renovate his $57m Malibu mansion.

Handyman Tony Saxon claimed he was injured while working at the beachfront house in 2021, that he wasn’t paid properly and that he was fired after refusing to run generators that released carbon monoxide inside the property.

West’s team had argued Saxon was an unlicensed contractor who “destroyed” the “architectural gem” while working as an independent contractor and that bank records showed Saxon was paid $240,000 during the six weeks he worked for the rapper.

A jury sitting in Los Angeles Superior Court heard Saxon initially filed a lawsuit in 2023, alleging unsafe working conditions, unpaid wages and wrongful termination.

In true Ye style, it’s not been a traditional trial - at one point he appeared to fall asleep while giving evidence on the stand. This claim was then refuted by his defence attorney, Andrew Cherkasky, who told the jury on Monday: “He wasn’t sleeping. He was bored. This is beneath him.”

Resident Fame Under Fire attorney Shaun Kent joins Anoushka to discuss the details of what went down - plus what the latest legal battle means for future cases against the self proclaimed Yeezus.

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Host: Anoushka Mutanda Dougherty

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Commissioning Producer: Adam Eland

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Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts