Ye could be facing a hefty price tag in the discrimination lawsuit brought by a former Donda Academy security guard who claims he was fired after refusing to cut his dreadlocks.
Benjamin Provo, a Black former security employee who sued Ye, Yeezy LLC and Donda Academy in 2024, has outlined potential damages of approximately $23 million if he prevails at trial, according to new court documents obtained by TMZ.
The $23 million figure is not a judgment against Ye, nor has a jury determined that Provo is entitled to the money. It represents damages Provo says he could be owed based on his claims.
At the center of the lawsuit is Provo’s allegation that he was discriminated against because of his race and hairstyle while working security connected to Donda Academy and Yeezy.
Provo alleges that Ye wanted employees to shave their heads and that he refused to cut his dreadlocks, which he says he wore in connection with his Muslim faith and Black cultural identity. He claims he was subsequently terminated.
Ye has denied firing Provo because of his hair. During his deposition, Ye acknowledged preferring employees to maintain a uniform appearance but denied Provo’s version of why his employment ended.
Ye’s attorneys have also challenged whether Provo was actually Ye’s employee, arguing that he worked for a third-party company that supplied personnel to Ye’s businesses. That distinction could become significant as the case moves toward trial.
Provo’s allegations extend beyond his dreadlocks.
His lawsuit claims Black employees were treated less favorably than white employees and alleges Ye would yell at Black workers while behaving differently toward white employees. Provo has also alleged that books by prominent Black figures, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., were removed from Donda Academy.
Ye has denied wrongdoing.
The approaching trial has already produced several contentious evidentiary battles.
Provo’s attorneys deposed former Ye chief of staff Milo Yiannopoulos, whose testimony is now being cited by Provo’s side as evidence of the culture surrounding Ye’s businesses.
According to court documents, Yiannopoulos testified that someone with “really thin skin about racially charged remarks” would not have been suited for the company. He also reportedly said employees working at Yeezy during 2023 and 2024 had to accept Ye’s provocative manner of discussing religion.
Ye, meanwhile, is attempting to prevent jurors from hearing about some of his most controversial public statements.
His attorneys have asked the court to exclude social media posts involving praise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism, arguing that statements made outside the workplace are irrelevant to determining whether Provo experienced employment discrimination.
Provo’s side has sought to introduce some of that material as evidence supporting his allegations of a hostile work environment.
The dispute has also expanded to Ye’s mental state at the time of the alleged conduct. Provo recently asked the court to prevent Ye from asserting that he was of “unsound mind” as a defense, arguing that Ye had not previously produced medical records or expert testimony supporting such a position.
Provo’s attorneys have pointed to Ye’s own deposition testimony, in which he was asked whether he felt he was not himself around the period when Donda Academy was operating.
“No,” Ye responded, according to the court documents. “I think that was close to me being myself, but people change, though, too.”
With the case approaching trial, the two-year legal battle is now moving toward the question a jury could ultimately decide: whether Provo was subjected to unlawful discrimination and retaliation and, if so, how much Ye and the other defendants could be required to pay.
For now, Provo’s $23 million demand remains exactly that: a calculation of potential damages, not a verdict.