Kanye West faces lawsuit from production company; sued for $7 Mn over unpaid fees

Famed rapper Kanye West landed himself in legal trouble over an alleged non-payment of dues to a production and design firm. According to Variety, the Los Angeles-based firm Phantom Labs has claimed that West and his team owe them more than $7.1 million for their work towards the rapper's 'cancelled Coachella set, his Free Larry Hoover concert with Drake, a Donda 2 listening event and multiple Sunday Service performances'. 

The firm mentioned that as the unpaid bills started piling up from these projects, it was assured that everything would be settled after the Donda rapper collected a $9 million fee for his Coachella stint. However, as the rapper pulled out of the headlining appearance, the company claimed it was deprived of not just the 'millions already owed for past collaborations' but also the money 'it had paid other vendors for the scotched festival appearance.'

Kanye West faces lawsuit from production company over non-payment of fees

The complaint has been filed against Kanye and his companies, which have been referred to as the 'Yeezy Defendants'. In a statement to Variety, Phantom Labs' spokesperson said, "We are incredibly proud of the work that we did with Ye and are disappointed that such a fruitful relationship has come to this."

They continued, "A celebrity weaponizing fame and reputation to take advantage of eager collaborators is simply unacceptable.” As per the complaint, the $7.1 million dues accrued from June 2021 to March 2022. The firm alleged that they were paid for some of its early work, however, that also happened under pressure as they threatened to pull out from Donda 2 streaming event. 

The legal papers further detailed other instances of non-payment for various events and mentioned, "Of the approximately $7,154,177.67 owed, Defendants have not paid Phantom one cent, despite repeated requests for payment and providing Defendants detailed back-up."

"To the contrary, upon information and belief, since receiving this information, Defendants and their representatives have circumvented Phantom, and attempted to pay directly certain of Phantom’s vendors and merchants that Defendants want to work with in the future," the complaint stated. 

Earlier this month, Kanye was also sued by a fashion rental service, the David Casavant Archive, for over $400,000. According to TMZ, the firm claimed that Kanye never returned 13 of their “rare, esteemed pieces”. 

(IMAGE: AP)