Kanye West accuses former assistant of blackmail
Kanye West said he will sue his former assistant after she filed court documents accusing him of sexual harassment and breach of contract.
In her lawsuitLauren Pisciotta accused the star of sending her vulgar text messages and performing sexual acts while talking to her on the phone.
West’s legal representatives have now called those allegations “baseless” and accused Pisciotta of engaging in “blackmail and extortion” after the star rejected her sexual advances.
“In response to these baseless allegations, Ye will file a lawsuit against Ms. Pisciotta,” they added, using the rapper’s current preferred name.
Pisciotta is believed to have worked for West from 2021 to 2022, initially working in the fashion line before becoming his personal assistant on a salary of $1 million (£780,000) per year.
She alleges that, during her employment, the star bombarded her with obscene texts, some of which included pornographic videos.
Pisciotta also claimed that he masturbated while talking to her on the phone and on one occasion, he masturbated in front of her after “locking” her in a private room on his plane.
In her lawsuit, the former OnlyFans model said she was suddenly fired in 2022 and never received the promised severance package.
West’s attorney disputed the story, saying Pisciotta “was fired for being unqualified” and “demanded unreasonable sums of money,” including an annual salary of $4 million.
They also accused Pisciotta of “lewd, shameless behavior,” saying she “regularly coerced sex” for money and material goods, including designer handbags and a Lamborghini car.
The statement further alleges that, after West rejected her offer, Pisciotta attempted to blackmail him for $60m (£47m).
The BBC contacted Ms Pisciotta for a response but she did not immediately respond.
On Tuesday, she posted a message to her Instagram story that read, “Your soul becomes aligned with freedom when you allow others the freedom to dislike you, judge you, and disagree with you.”