Ye has given his wife a power of attorney to answer discovery questions in a lawsuit by a man who alleges he was wrongfully fired from his job as a security guard in 2023 after protesting that the rapper often screamed at and berated Black employees at the Donda Academy and Yeezy LLC, but did not treat white workers in the same abusive way.
Retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig D. Karlan is a discovery referee in Benjamin Deshon Provo’s suit against Ye, who was formerly known as Kanye West. He is assisting Judge Brock T. Hammond, who is overseeing the overall case, by handling motions and other issues.
In a report to Hammond dated Monday, Karlan says that Ye has given the power of attorney to his wife, Biana Censori, in which Karlan says the singer has agreed to be bound by his spouse’s signature on all discovery responses based on the power of attorney that Ye has given her.
“As such, Ye will not contest any response provided by Censori on any basis,” Karlan wrote.
In his lawsuit filed in April 2024, Provo also contends that West, now 48, chided him for wearing his hair in dreads, which Provo practiced in keeping with his Muslim faith. Provo worked at Donda Academy and for Yeezy, Ye’s apparel company.
“Kanye and members of his management team required Provo to choose between these critical aspects of his self-identity and financial stability,” the suit stated.
While a Santa Monica Superior Court Judge, Karlan presided over the trial of Judy Huth against Bill Cosby. The Canyon Lake woman testified that Cosby fondled her and forced her to perform a sex act on him while visiting the Playboy Mansion in 1975, when she was 16 years old. The jury awarded Huth $500,000.