A former civil servant and teacher who worked at two schools founded by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is suing the artist and his Christian academies, alleging in a lawsuit filed Thursday that they had sanitation issues dismal, electrical issues and windows and a skylight that were left empty because Ye allegedly didn’t like glass.
Isaiah Meadows, former vice principal of Yeezy Christian Academy, the predecessor of Donda Academy, said he was suspended and then fired after complaining about conditions at Southern California schools.
The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, adds to a chorus of allegations against Ye and his pursuit of what the Donda Academy website describes as a “mission to provide young people with the passion, purpose and the spiritual foundations they need to thrive. The world of tomorrow. »
In a separate lawsuit filed this year by the law firm that filed Thursday’s lawsuit, two former teachers accused Ye and Donda Academy of wrongful termination, painting a disturbing picture of a school they say has failed. no janitorial or medical staff, rampant bullying, and rules that emerged to prohibit the use of forks and clothes that weren’t black or designed by Ye.
A third plaintiff was added to the suit last month.
“It is absolutely egregious what is happening at this school,” Ron Zambrano, the attorney representing the plaintiffs in both lawsuits, said in a statement.
“The illegal and retaliatory behavior of Mr. West and the school principals has now been repeatedly documented by other former employees who never even worked together but all suffered the same horrendous treatment and were witnessed the same serious health, safety and education code violations, while all suffered the same fate – wrongful termination – and we plan to hold them accountable,” Zambrano said.
Thursday’s lawsuit, which Zambrano’s company provided to NBC News, alleges breach of contract, alleging that after Meadows raised concerns about health, safety and other issues at schools, he was suspended, his salary was suspended and he was eventually fired.
You didn’t keep a promise either Yeezy Christian Academy officials would pay Meadows’ rent, the suit claims, leaving him to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the home he rented in Calabasas, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
The suit names Ye, Donda Academy and Yeezy Christian Academy, where Meadows said he began working as a full-time employee in late 2020, as defendants, as well as officials from both schools.
The Yeezy Christian Academy campus had no hot water and a glassless skylight, a septic tank that repeatedly overflowed, and wiring so poorly done that an electrical fire broke out near the dining hall students, according to the lawsuit.
When the school became Donda Academy and moved to another location in Simi Valley in August 2021, Meadows worked as a teacher’s assistant and taught faith and physical education, according to the suit.
During the first few months of school, the new campus had no electricity, so classes were taught using generator-powered commercial projectors, according to the suit. No glass was fitted in the windows, although mesh curtains were eventually added and, as with the first campus, the school’s septic tank often overflowed, depending on the suit.
At both schools, according to the lawsuit, Meadows complained to Ye and a former administrator. He was fired without explanation in August, two weeks before the start of the fall semester, according to the lawsuit.
“Plaintiff MEADOWS is informed and believes that he was terminated by defendants because he raised concerns about school operations and wage violations,” the suit states.
The complaint does not specify how much Meadows is asking for. He says he wants damages for unpaid wages, lost income and emotional distress, among other things.
A lawyer for Donda did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuits, including a request on Wednesday. Representatives and attorneys for Ye also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
An attorney for Ye, Gregory Suhr, denied the former teachers’ claims, saying depictions of Donda Academy as a “dystopian institution designed to satisfy Ye’s idiosyncrasies” were false.
“None of this is true and the allegations do a disservice to the staff and current students of Donda Academy and their parents who will attest to their positive experience,” Suhr said in a court filing last week. Superior of Los Angeles County.
Suhr asked the judge to dismiss the claims.
Lawyers for the school described the lawsuit against the former teachers as “fatally uncertain, ambiguous and unintelligible”.
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com