Another former Donda Academy worker is suing the school and Ye, alleging he was wrongfully fired in 2024 and is still owed thousands of dollars in back wages for two months of work.
Gregory Alan Avila’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also alleges whistleblower retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and various state Labor Code violations. He seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
An attorney who has represented the 47-year-old rapper, formerly known as Kanye West, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit filed Wednesday.
According to Avila’s suit, Donda program director Tianne King offered him a job in December 2023, telling him that his experience and talent in the music industry would make him an excellent fit with Ye’s companies. Avila, who had previously worked for both Yeezy and Donda and was an avid fan of the singer, was “thrilled” with the chance to return and expand his opportunities in music, the suit states.
Avila’s position was a coach and he was to be paid $10,000 a month, but by February 2024 he noticed he was not paid for the previous month, according to the suit. King said he would be compensated soon and that in the interim he should “get back to work,” according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff believed King followed her orders.
That same month, Avila suffered an on-the-job head injury and reported it to management, which upset King, who was concerned about the potential liability to Ye and Donda, the suit states. Fearing retaliation, Avila decided against pursuing any legal claims against the defendants, the complaint further states.
Although King again assured Avila in February 2024 that he would be paid for his work, that same month she told him he was being terminated with yet another assurance he would receive his unpaid wages and also be considered for future employment, the suit states.
However, to date Avila is still owed payment for the months of January and February 2024 and King has ignored his emails asking for payment, the suit states. He also says that after his termination, Donda contended that he was an independent contractor despite King’s earlier assertions that he was to be an employee.
Avila, who left another job to take the position at Donda, has suffered both lost wages and emotional distress, the suit states.
Recently, three other former Donda Academy employees tentatively settled litigation with the rapper. Attorneys for former Assistant Principal Isaiah Meadows, who filed an individual case, and ex-teachers Cecilia Hailey, Chekarey Byers and Timanii Meeks filed court papers in Los Angeles Superior Court stating that there has been a “conditional” resolution in both lawsuits. No terms were revealed.