Kanye West’s ongoing authorized battle over his Malibu mansion renovation is taking a dramatic flip, and now his spouse, Bianca Censori, could also be pulled into the highlight.
A contractor suing the rapper is asking a Los Angeles courtroom to have Censori testify within the labor dispute, elevating contemporary questions on who was concerned behind the scenes.
Because the case heads again to courtroom, new particulars are resurfacing about West’s controversial imaginative and prescient for the oceanfront property.
Article continues beneath commercial
Kanye West’s Contractor Seeks Bianca Censori’s Testimony
The lawsuit towards Kanye West was first filed in 2023 by contractor Tony Saxon, who claims he was employed to supervise sweeping renovations on the rapper’s Malibu mansion.
Now, in keeping with courtroom paperwork reviewed by TMZ, Saxon desires Censori to take the stand.
It’s not instantly clear why the 31-year-old was formally cited as a possible witness.
Nonetheless, a 2024 report from The New Yorker indicated she had served as an middleman at one level in the course of the challenge.
That element seems to have prompted Saxon’s authorized staff to request her testimony because the case strikes ahead.
The dispute dates again to September 2021, when West bought the oceanfront Malibu property for greater than $57 million and commenced planning main structural adjustments.
The case is scheduled to return to courtroom later this month.
Article continues beneath commercial
West’s Malibu Transform Sparked Security Considerations
In line with Saxon’s authorized filings, he labored as much as 16 hours a day on the renovation and generally slept on the bottom along with his coat to remain on schedule.
He says he offered providers together with challenge administration, property caretaker duties, and safety. Nonetheless, simply two months into the challenge, issues allegedly deteriorated.
Saxon advised the courtroom he objected to a number of of Kanye West’s requests, together with orders to demolish marble loos and take away all plumbing, home windows, and electrical methods.
When the file producer allegedly proposed transferring massive mills inside the house, Saxon mentioned he warned it might create a critical hearth hazard.
In response, Saxon claims West threatened him, saying he can be thought-about “an enemy” if he didn’t perform the directions.
Article continues beneath commercial
The contractor alleges West advised him, “Should you don’t do what I say, you’re not going to work for me, I’m not gonna be your good friend anymore and also you’ll simply see me on TV.”
Article continues beneath commercial
Kanye West Accused Of Firing Contractor On The Spot
Saxon claims the confrontation escalated shortly. After allegedly telling West that he doesn’t watch tv, he says he was fired instantly and ordered to “get the hell out” of the property.
Saxon additional alleges that he was paid for just one week of labor, regardless of the lengthy hours he says he invested within the rework.
The contractor is now suing West for greater than $1 million in unpaid wages, damages, and a number of labor code violations.
In courtroom paperwork, he described the songwriter’s imaginative and prescient for the mansion as remodeling it into one thing resembling “a bomb shelter from the 1910s,” in keeping with NBC News.
Article continues beneath commercial
He elaborated on what that meant in observe. “We have been going to be gutting all of that out and type of constructing him a Bat Cave,” Saxon mentioned, including that the rapper wished an area the place he may “disguise from the Clintons in and the Kardashians in.”
West’s Alleged Imaginative and prescient For A Darkish, Electrical energy-Free House
What initially appeared like a creative idea allegedly turned one thing extra everlasting.
Saxon claimed he finally realized Kanye West supposed to really stay within the stripped-down property.
“West wished no electrical energy,” Saxon mentioned. “He solely wished vegetation. He solely wished candles. He solely wished battery lights. And he simply wished to have every thing open and darkish.”
These adjustments, in keeping with Saxon, included eradicating floor-to-ceiling home windows that when provided sweeping ocean views.
Images taken in 2024 reportedly confirmed the aspect of the home uncovered to the weather after the home windows have been eliminated.
The inside additionally gave the impression to be deteriorating, with steel railings rusting from salt air and moisture on the oceanfront location.
Article continues beneath commercial
Neighbors later advised TMZ the mansion had been “left to rot” and that they’d not “seen anybody round for a lot of months.”
Kanye West Denies Allegations As Case Returns To Courtroom
Kanye West has since firmly denied the accusations. In a November 2023 courtroom submitting, his authorized staff requested that the lawsuit be dismissed.
His attorneys argued that he was not accountable for the damages Saxon claimed and mentioned the contractor carried out duties with out his data.
West took issues additional in January 2026 when he filed a lawsuit towards Saxon and his legal professionals, alleging that they wrongfully put a $1.8 million lien on the property.
Saxon had positioned a lien on the mansion in January 2024, as a way to safe compensation for his work.
In line with West’s submitting, it was inappropriate, contemplating the lien was positioned one month after he put the home on sale.
Article continues beneath commercial
The submitting contends that final 12 months the Los Angeles Superior Courtroom granted West’s movement to launch the lien from the bond and awarded him attorneys charges.
