Kanye West faces unpaid fees for canceling Coachella performance and ‘Donda 2’ listening party

Kanye West is suing a Los Angeles production company for $7.1 million (£6 million) over unpaid fees for a series of events.

According to the lawsuit, filed yesterday (July 14) in Los Angeles County Superior Court, West and his team owe Phantom Labs fees for their ‘Donda 2’ live stream earlier this year, which canceled his Coachella 2022 appearance , last year ‘Free. Larry Hoover’s concert with Drake, some of his Sunday services and the rapper’s studio spaces, Variety reports.

The company alleges that as unpaid bills began piling up for multiple projects, it was assured everything would be paid once the rapper now known as Ye collected an alleged $US9 million ($7.6 million) appearance fee at Coachella.

When West pulled out of that appearance weeks early, the company said he was on the hook not only because of the millions he was already owed from previous co-workers, but because of the money he paid also with other vendors for the canceled appearance on the festival show. .

The rapper reportedly hired Phantom Labs in October 2021 to “complete a renovation project” on a warehouse in Los Angeles that West was converting into an office and creative space. The rapper would also hire the company to produce four consecutive Sunday Service events in November of that year. Phantom Labs claims it was not paid for either project.

The company also reportedly had a hand in the production of West’s “Donda 2” party in Miami this year, and claims to be owed $2.2m (£1.9m). In addition, Phantom Labs claims it received more than $1 million (£840,000) in cancellation fees after West pulled out of his headlining performance at Coachella in early April this year.

“We’re extremely proud of the work we’ve done with Ye and we’re disappointed that such a fruitful relationship has come to this,” a Phantom Labs spokesperson said in a statement, (via Variety). “It is unacceptable for a celebrity to weaponize fame and fortune to take advantage of willing collaborators.”

NME has contacted West’s publicist for comment.

The latest court case comes after the rapper was accused of failing to return a number of rare and archival fashion pieces in a six-figure lawsuit earlier this month.