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\n Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
The trial surrounding Ye\u2019s now-infamous Malibu Beach home has entered its second week. This week so far has included testimony<\/a> about the rapper\u2019s look-alike love interests and a handyman\u2019s allegation that \u201cnothing we did there was of our own volition.\u201d<\/p>\n Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is being sued by his former contractor, Tony Saxon, over alleged unpaid wages. Saxon says that Ye hired him as the project manager for a major renovation that gutted his house of pretty much every house-like thing. Saxon says he was also expected to provide full-time security and live-in caretaking for Ye\u2019s sprawling Tadao Ando\u2013designed house.<\/p>\n As with many Ye-related things, however, things took a destructive turn. Saxon claims he was worked to the bone, with 16-hour days in \u201cdangerous working conditions,\u201d according to USA Today<\/a>. Court papers claim that Ye demanded Saxon move large generators into the house, \u201cwhich could potentially lead to a fire hazard.\u201d Saxon also alleges that his construction-site lodging was \u201cmakeshift,\u201d with him finding empty spaces on the ground and using his coat as bedding. Ye has denied wrongdoing. Both Ye and his wife, architect Bianca Censori, are poised to testify. Here\u2019s what we know about the case.<\/p>\n Saxon says he worked for Ye for almost two months, from September to November 2021, and alleges he\u2019s owed $1 million for unpaid wages as well as expenses, Courthouse News Service reports<\/a>. Saxon says that Ye hired him to helm renovation and ultimate remodeling of the then\u2013$57 million house. Saxon alleges that Ye said he\u2019d pay him $20,000 weekly. While Ye did pay him $260,000, Saxon says much of that went back into the house and was used for construction material and laborers. Saxon claims he \u201cseverely\u201d hurt his back during the project. Ye allegedly ignored Saxon\u2019s request for time off, per USA Today.<\/p>\n Saxon claims that he was axed after opposing some \u201cdangerous\u201d requests. \u201cIf you don\u2019t do what I say, you\u2019re not going to work for me, I\u2019m not gonna be your friend anymore and you\u2019ll just see me on TV,\u201d Ye allegedly told Saxon, according to court papers. Saxon claims he replied, \u201cI don\u2019t watch TV.\u201d Ye allegedly responded, \u201cLeave.\u201d<\/p>\n Saxon took the stand last week and told jurors that he hurt his back and neck during Ye\u2019s project, according to Rolling Stone, but kept working to hit milestones. When Saxon was questioned about how Ye\u2019s house was supposed to work without water, he said West pitched a system where \u201chis urine and feces be treated into fresh water for drinking and bathing for him.\u201d Saxon also told the jury that he had concerns about electricity being disconnected from the house and was axed after voicing these worries. \u201cYe attacked me. He got in my face, saying, \u2018I just plugged my phone in, and the outlets are still working. Why is the electricity still there? Why is there still power in the house?\u2019 He was really upset,\u201d Rolling Stone quoted Saxon as saying.<\/p>\n During his testimony, handyman Jeromy Holding described how he confused Ye\u2019s now-ex-wife Kim Kardashian with Bianca Censori. Holding told jurors that he saw a woman walking on the job site early during his time there, Rolling Stone said. Holding said he believed it was Censori. He alleged that this woman pulled down her sunglasses in an \u201cI don\u2019t know you\u201d\u2013type way. Ye introduced her as his then-wife, Kardashian. \u201cI said, \u2018Oh, I thought you were Bianca,\u2019\u201d Holding reportedly told jurors. \u201cI walked around the house, and then they started arguing. Then she took the kids, and I got called upstairs.\u201d Ye allegedly told Holding, \u201cOne of the most famous women in the world, and you call her by another woman\u2019s name? What say you? \u2026 You did it on purpose.\u201d While Holding described feeling embarrassed and claimed he offered to resign, Ye replied, \u201cNah.\u201d Rolling Stone notes that Ye and Censori married in 2022 after he and Kardashian finalized their divorce.<\/p>\n The house started out as a 4,000-square-foot mansion with impressive Pacific Ocean views. It was made from approximately 1,200 tons of concrete and 200 tons of steel reinforcement, according to Architectural Digest<\/a>. Ron Zambrano of West Coast Trial Lawyers, Saxon\u2019s attorney, reportedly said in his opening statement that Ye wanted his already minimalist house to be even more minimalist \u2014 an \u201coff-the-grid\u201d shelter. To achieve that, Ye demanded the removal of pretty much everything that made the house a house \u2014 windows, toilets, and electricity, Courthouse News said.<\/p>\n Ye decided to sell his house about three months after Saxon sued. Jason Oppenheim, of Selling Sunset fame, listed the house for $53 million. However, the whole \u201cnot having electricity or plumbing or windows\u201d thing did not bode well for Ye, who wound up selling the house for $21 million, according to Realtor.com<\/a>. This buyer tried to sell the house and listed it for $34.9 million in September, the New York Post reported<\/a>. In December, however, Realtor.com reported<\/a> that the owner partnered with a firm to offer a \u201cpartial economic ownership\u201d stake in the house for around $300,000.<\/p>\n Ye\u2019s lawyer, Andrew Cherkasky, told jurors that Saxon told his client he was licensed, but he was actually unlicensed, Courthouse News said. Cherkasky claimed that Saxon received $240,000 for six weeks of work and alleged \u201che destroyed the Ando house.\u201d Cherkasky also claimed that Saxon \u201cmade promises he couldn\u2019t fulfill.\u201d Ye\u2019s spokesperson, far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, defended his boss outside the courtroom. \u201cThe truth is that Tony was overpaid and underqualified and should have quit while he was ahead,\u201d Yiannopoulos reportedly told the press on Tuesday, per Courthouse News. (Ye reportedly did not attend court that day.) \u201cHe should have taken the quarter of a million dollars he was paid for six weeks\u2019 work and run. For a while, he did \u2014 for two years, in fact, until a law firm got involved. And now we are here trying to figure out if anything that Tony Saxon has ever said is true.\u201d<\/p>\n