Students at Kanye West's Donda Academy were only allowed to eat sushi for lunch which they had to eat with their hands on the floor, former staff allege in a new lawsuit

• Ye forced students at Donda Academy to eat sushi for lunch every day, a new lawsuit alleges.
• The suit alleges that Donda Academy employs "unlawful educational practices."

Former staff members at Ye's secretive Donda Academy alleged in a lawsuit filed Thursday that the rapper — formerly known as Kanye West — fed the school's students sushi for lunch every day and refused to use any chemical-based cleaners in the school, requiring teachers to clean their classrooms with "acid water."

The allegations were among a long list of bizarre rules that two former staff members at the private Christian academy say were forced upon staff and students. The former staffers — Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers — say they were the only female Black women employed by the school.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Ye, Donda Academy, and three school directors. It cites complaints for seven labor code and discrimination violations and seeks unspecified damages.

The two plaintiffs, who are mother and daughter according to their attorney, said in the suit that they recognized "multiple health and safety violations, as well as unlawful educational practices at Donda Academy."

Donda Academy, a secretive California private school, made headlines last fall. At the time, Ye had come under fire after he donned a "White Lives Matter" T-shirt, incorrectly insisted George Floyd died of a drug overdose, and made repeated antisemitic comments.

Hailey was hired by the school in November 2022 and Byers was hired in January 2023, according to the lawsuit.

The women say they were fired in March after complaining about the allegedly unsafe conditions and that they were discriminated against because of their race.

Donda Academy and three lawyers who represent Ye in unrelated lawsuits did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment on Thursday.

When approached by an Insider reporter at Donda's Chatsworth campus on Thursday, a staff member declined to comment.

Bizarre rules

Hailey and Byers say in the lawsuit that Ye provided lunch for staff and students each day, but the women allege that throughout the entirety of both of their employments, "the only lunch available to students was sushi," which they weren't given utensils to eat.

The lawsuit alleges that students at Donda Academy were not allowed to bring any outside food into the school or go outside for recess.

According to the suit, it was "widely known" that Ye spent $10,000 per week on sushi for the students.

Among other allegations detailed in the suit, the women allege that the school did not have a proper disciplinary system and because of that, many of the academy's students fell victim to bullying while enrolled.

"In one incident, a student assaulted an eighth-grade student by slapping her, then attempted to assault another teacher," the lawsuit states. "The student had multiple accounts of bullying, both physically and verbally, that had gone without discipline."

Donda Academy also did not employ a cleaning staff and "was not operating as a proper school, as it did not have any janitorial services," the suit alleges.

Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that Ye "did not believe in cleaning products containing chemicals," so teachers were forced to clean their classrooms with "acid water and microfiber cloths."

The lawsuit also alleges that there were no trash cans in the building except for inside classrooms and the kitchen.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs' complaints were never addressed, and they say the school principal called them" aggressive" for raising these concerns.

"Plaintiffs believe this type of comment facilitates stereotypes about African-American women being confrontational simply for doing their job and voicing their legitimate concerns in order to provide a safe environment and proper education for their students," the lawsuit reads.

The two former staffers say in the lawsuit that when they showed up for work on March 3, they were met in the parking lot and told they were being terminated without being provided a reason.

One of their lawyers, Ronald L. Zambrano, told Insider on Thursday that his clients believe Ye has good intentions but that they are speaking up for the good of the students at Donda Academy. However, he said his clients believe people working at the school are not standing up to Ye to enforce proper education standards.

"In their heart of hearts, they think that Kanye is trying to do the right thing," Zambrano said. "No one says, 'Hey, that may not be the best for the kids.' No one is pushing back. Some people have a tough time and are just 'Yes' people."

A secretive school

Donda Academy was under the public spotlight last fall when Ye made a series of racist and antisemitic comments.

The artist came under fire after he donned a "White Lives Matter" T-shirt, incorrectly insisted George Floyd died of a drug overdose, and made repeated antisemitic comments. He has since apologized for what he said about Floyd's death but doubled down on his antisemitic rhetoric.

On October 27, Donda officials announced the school would be closing, but days later an Insider reporter found students and parents coming and going from its Chatsworth location. Ye himself made an appearance at the school, which was discreetly located in a building marked "Jouer."

At the time, Ye's Donda Academy campus was believed to be located in exurban Ventura County, California, but administrators secretly moved the school in 2021 to a Los Angeles suburb, according to emails and state Department of Education documents obtained by Insider.