A Los Angeles jury has mandated that renowned rapper Kanye West pay $140,000 to former handyman Tony Saxon, concluding a contentious civil trial centered on allegations of unpaid labor and extraordinary working conditions at West’s Malibu estate. The verdict, delivered after a ten-day proceeding at Los Angeles Superior Court, represents significantly less than the $1.7 million initially sought by Saxon.
The legal battle unveiled startling testimony about the rapper’s conduct during property renovations. Saxon testified that West agreed to a $20,000 weekly compensation but provided only one such payment along with an additional $100,000 for construction expenses. The handyman further described being awakened at 3:00 AM to justify his inactivity and sleeping on a modest mattress placed directly on concrete flooring.
Most remarkably, Saxon alleged that West requested the installation of a system to convert human waste into purified drinking and bathing water. The rapper reportedly acknowledged Saxon’s poor hygiene due to absent shower facilities by escorting him to Malibu’s luxury Nobu Hotel, where he personally drew the handyman’s bath while declaring it ‘a moment you’ll never forget.’
West’s legal team countered these accounts by presenting financial records indicating $240,000 in payments over Saxon’s six-week employment. Defense attorney Andrew Cherkasky characterized Saxon as ‘a professional victim’ whose testimony contained ‘deep and wicked lies,’ while simultaneously disputing the validity of his reported injuries with video evidence of musical performances.
The controversial property itself—a $57 million architectural masterpiece designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando—became a central element of the dispute. Saxon testified that West intended to radically transform the beachfront residence into an off-grid facility by eliminating electricity, plumbing, and replacing staircases with slides.
This case marks the first among numerous lawsuits filed by former West employees to reach trial, occurring alongside the artist’s well-documented professional decline following antisemitic remarks and Nazi glorification in his public statements.