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Students at Kanye West's school were not allowed to learn about the Holocaust, a former teacher claims

Apr 16, 2023, 17:38 IST
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  • A former teacher at Donda Academy claims that students were not allowed to learn about the Holocaust.
  • She said that students were at least two years behind in math and were also not allowed to watch anything made by Disney.
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Students were not allowed to learn about the Holocaust at Donda Academy, the secretive school set up by Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, a former teacher has claimed.

Cecilia Hailey, suing the school for wrongful termination, told The Daily Beast that there were strict limitations on what students could learn.

"No African American History Month," Hailey said. "Do not teach the Holocaust course. That was out. Don't even mention that. We wanted to do Asian American History Month in May, and that was not going to be allowed."

Kanye West, now known as Ye, faced backlash last year for making antisemitic comments, including a declaration that he liked Hitler and a tweet that said he was "going death con 3" on Jewish people.

He has also made inflammatory statements about race over the years, including saying that slavery was a "choice" and wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt at Paris Fashion Week last year.

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Hailey claimed there were also restrictions to Donda's curriculum beyond history and race. Students were also not allowed to watch anything made by Disney or Pixar and were not permitted to go see "The Nutcracker," she told The Daily Beast.

She also said she believed that students at the school were at least two years behind in math.

Hailey was hired as a substitute teacher in November of last year and was fired in March, along with her daughter Chekarey Byers, also a teacher there.

The pair are suing the school and claim in the lawsuit that their termination was in retaliation for raising concerns about issues at the school.

Donda Academy did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, which was made outside working hours.

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The lawsuit has made various revelations about the school's chaotic environment. Ye did not let students use chairs or the building's second floor because he is "afraid of stairs" and that students were only fed sushi for lunch.

She previously told Insider in an interview that the children went left hungry due to the sushi-only menu and that when she raised concerns to the principal, she was told, "This is what Ye wants."

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