Kanye West's former assistant is afraid and in hiding, according to her lawyer, after she brought forward sexual assault allegations against the rapper.
Lauren Pisciotta, 36, first began working for West in 2021, according to the BBC. She initially filed a lawsuit in June 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and stalking, but this year she updated her claims against West to include sex trafficking, stalking, assault, and rape.
West, who is also known as Ye, has dismissed her claims as "fantasy fiction."
Pisciotta's lawyer, Arick Fudali, told the BBC that his client was "afraid" as she waits for the civil case to return to court next month. She has deleted a large portion of her online content and is now "just sort of sitting around and hiding — letting this lawsuit play out."
"It's really sad — she's gone through a lot. She is suffering and has been suffering since she began working for Mr. West," Fudali added.
After her initial 2024 filing, Pisciotta amended her claim, alleging that six days later, she became a victim of targeted "swatting," which she claims West was organizing.
Swatting refers to falsely reporting a serious crime at a particular location with the intent of triggering a law enforcement raid at that site.
In her amended lawsuit filed on July 10, Pisciotta alleged she endured numerous unwanted and distressing police visits, including an armed raid by the Palm Beach Sheriff's office after a false report claimed she had killed her mother, BBC reported. She also stated that around this time, she began receiving threatening phone calls warning her against pursuing the lawsuit.
Pisciotta has accused West of repeatedly sexually assaulting and harassing her during her employment, BBC reported. One specific incident described involved West allegedly forcing himself on her in a hotel room while working on the DONDA album. Additionally, she claimed West often engaged in sexual activities with Yeezy staff at the office, recording these encounters and sending the videos to her, alongside frequent texts expressing sexual fantasies about her.
Further, she claimed West "exposed his employees to extreme displays of racism and antisemitism on a daily basis."
"Ye constantly used derogatory, antisemitic slurs and interrogated employees he suspected were Jewish. On multiple occasions, Ye demanded that his assistants and other employees draw swastikas in the workplace," the lawsuit said, according to BBC.
Commenting on the claims, West's spokesperson told USA Today that Pisciotta's amended complaint is the fourth version she has advanced.
"Each new revision contradicts the others," the spokesperson said, adding that the latest claim is a "breathless new installment of fantasy fiction [that] discredits all past, present and future testimony."
"We stand ready to annihilate Ms. Pisciotta's tall tales before a jury — an exoneration so inevitable that even she, lost in her fog of fantasy, must surely see it coming."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.