Kanye West, or Ye, is officially calling out a more than $7 million lawsuit by a production company that claims he failed to pay them.
The billionaire rapper and controversial fashion mogul denies owing money to Phantom Labs, a production company that sued Ye this summer.
Why Phantom Is Suing
According to a spokesman for Phantom, the lawsuit was a last resort. “We are incredibly proud of the work that we did with Ye and are disappointed that such a fruitful relationship has come to this. A celebrity weaponizing fame and reputation to take advantage of eager collaborators is simply unacceptable,” the spokesperson said in a statement, Billboard reported.
On Oct. 3, Ye’s lawyer forwarded a motion to dismiss the suit, calling Phantom Labs’ July petition “carelessness” and “negligence,” Radar reported.
Ye reportedly owes Phantom Labs $6 million for work provided, including production work done for his Sunday Services, his “Free Larry Hoover” performance with Drake, his listening event for Donda 2 and his canceled Coachella gig.
According to the lawsuit, Phantom and Ye have a long working relationship. The company claimed it has been paid millions in fees over the years, but that “significant overdue invoices began to pile up” as time went by.
The additional $1.1 million is for the last-minute cancellation fees at Coachella, where Ye infamously dropped out of headlining attractions.
Ye Finally Responds
According to Ye, he stopped paying Phantom Labs for its services, saying it “performed so poorly that any further payment would be unreasonable and unfair.”
Ye’s lawyers contest that because the original contract between the rapper and production company got scrapped for another agreement, prior obligations that were not substituted should not be enforced.
“There is an original contract between Plaintiff and Defendants,” but “the original contract with Plaintiff cannot be enforced because the parties substituted a new and different contract for the original, and all parties agreed, by words or conduct, to cancel the original contract and to substitute a new contract in its place,” the filing states, Radar reported.
According to the rapper, “there was no agreement, no meeting of the minds and/or no consideration for an agreement for payment of services already covered under separate agreements.”
Kanyee says he is not responsible or liable, adding that if the company experienced loss that it’s due, according to the statement, “in part, by the carelessness, negligence, want of care or other conduct or misconduct on the part of persons or entities other than Defendants.”
