Kanye West's Irish former business manager has filed a €4.5m lawsuit against the rapper and accused him of refusing to pay 18 months' worth of fees after taking him on as a client in March.
Thomas St John, head of accounting firm TSJ International, claims when he confronted West about the €300,000 monthly retainer, he became "heated and aggressive" and began cursing at him.
"He screamed at Mr St John and made clear he no longer wanted to work with [St. John]," the lawsuit states.
"When confronted by the 18-month commitment that had just been made, Mr West stated words to the effect of 'The 18-month term was bulls***' and 'You’re insane for even thinking I would stick to it.'"
St John, who is originally from Tuam, Co Galway, secured an 18-month contract with West as "assurance that defendants would not simply walk away from the business relationship," according to court documents obtained by The Blast.
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The accountant claims West did exactly that after paying fees for the first three months of service, leaving an unpaid balance of €900,000 as of October and €3.6m by next November when the contract was due to expire.
TSJ International states that it had to turn down two other potential clients to work with West's Yeezy fashion and brand, which was housed at Adidas until the German sportswear giant also cut ties with the musician.
West, who has been widely censured in recent weeks for anti-Semitic comments following an extended period of erratic behaviour, will reportedly require new legal representation after his lawyers at Greenberg Traurig said they would cut ties with him.
Lawyers from Greenberg are defending West and his businesses in a civil suit brought by Ultra International Music Publishing in New York and a federal suit by California performers hired to work on his 2019 Nebuchadnezzar opera.
In the New York suit, publishers claim West's song 'Flowers' from his 2022 album Donda 2 infringes on their copyright for sampling a song written by Marshall Jefferson in 1986.
The performers in California claim they were not paid minimum wage or overtime nor given adequate breaks when working on the opera at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
The Financial Times reported that Florida-based firm Greenberg, which was founded by three Jewish men, would drop West as a client and said it "was taking steps in response to the reported remarks in accordance with ethical obligations and court rules.
"We condemn anti-Semitism and all hate speech or bigotry, which is repugnant to the core values we believe in and live."
After being dropped by Adidas last month, West (now knowns as Ye) was escorted from the headquarters of footwear giant Skechers, where he had shown up unannounced to pitch the company on taking on the Yeezy brand.
"Considering Ye was engaged in unauthorised filming, two Skechers executives escorted him and his party from the building after a brief conversation," the company said in a statement.
"Skechers is not considering and has no intention of working with West. We condemn his recent divisive remarks and do not tolerate anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech. The company would like to again stress that West showed up unannounced and uninvited to Skechers corporate offices."
"I can say anti-Semitic things and Adidas can’t drop me," West previously stated, and he has since made similar remarks on social media, including a tweet declaring he would go "death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE."
He has since gone on to lose a number of high-profile partnerships. CNN reported last week West has a long-held Hitler fascination, and once wanted to name an album after the fascist dictator.
Photo: Thomas St John and Kanye West (inset).
