Kanye West is being sued for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress after an alleged physical altercation in Los Angeles.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Tuesday, April 14, a man going by John Doe claims West, 48, approached him at his table at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles around 11 p.m. on April 16, 2024.
“Without warning, [West] punched plaintiff in the face. The punch knocked plaintiff to the ground, where he hit his head and lost consciousness,” court documents allege. “[West] then repeatedly punched plaintiff as he lay unconscious on the ground, with the intent to cause physical harm.”
According to John Doe’s legal team, their client “did nothing at all to provoke” the alleged attack.
“By the very nature of [West’s] cowardly attack, plaintiff had no way of expecting or anticipating it,” court documents allege. “[West’s] conduct was shocking, physically harmful and offensive to plaintiff, as it would have been harmful and offensive to any reasonable person.”
Us has reached out to West’s rep for comment. TMZ was first to report the lawsuit.
The alleged victim claims he sustained physical injuries and emotional distress following the incident.
“In the days following the assault, [West] falsely accused plaintiff of engaging in offensive and inappropriate conduct toward a woman in [West’s] party,” court documents allege. “[West] repeated and embellished these lies during a widely viewed podcast appearance.”
As for why the alleged victim chose to be named under a pseudonym, court documents allege it was done “to protect his physical safety.”
The lawsuit comes just a couple of weeks after West performed two sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and earned $33 million, according to Bloomberg.
On April 1 and 3, West was able to fill one of Los Angeles’ biggest concert venues and perform his biggest hits. During his second show, the Grammy winner brought out special guests, including Lauryn Hill, Travis Scott and CeeLo Green.
On April 7, however, news broke that West was blocked from traveling to the U.K. due to controversy surrounding his planned headlining set at London’s Wireless Festival. As a result, the concert event was canceled.
When West was originally booked to headline the festival, the decision was met with backlash following his past antisemitic comments. Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that it was “deeply concerning” that the “Runaway” rapper had been booked to perform “despite his previous antisemitism remarks and celebration of nazism.”
In January, West took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal apologizing for his past antisemitic behavior.
