Paparazzo sues Kanye West for assault, battery: He grabbed my phone out of my hand and...

Kanye West, who now goes by the name Ye, has been sued by a paparazzo for grabbing her phone and throwing it onto the street, reports Variety. According to the international publication, Nichol Lechmanik, a celebrity photojournalist, said that she was doing her job by clicking the rapper's picture for content (West attended his daughter's basketball match). Narrating the incident, which took place in January this year, she told the publication that West reached into her car, snatched her phone and angrily threw it on the street. Lechmanik added that she hasn't been the same since the incident. 

Kanye West throws the phone of a paparazzo on street

"He reached into my car as if he were going to hit me. He grabbed my phone out of my hand and then angrily threw it into the street. He caused so much fear that I have not been the same since,” said the photographer to Variety.

The incident took place on January 27, when Kanye West was attending his daughter's basketball game in Ventura County. However, back then, the photographer did not press charges against the rapper. Now, after five months, Lechmanik has filed a lawsuit with the Ventura County Superior Court near Los Angeles, reported Variety. Through the lawsuit, she's seeking reparations for the damage she sustained from the incident - "mental-emotional pain and lost earnings (as she has been prevented from doing the job)." 

According to Variety, the lawsuit states, "Given Defendant Ye’s reputation for violence against photographers, his history of physically harming them, and based on his threatening body language, Plaintiff became fearful for the photographers safety.” Additionally, the photographer wants the rapper to stop interfering with the rights of the paparazzi. 

In the past, the rapper has been involved in some violent interactions with paparazzi and fans.