The artist formerly known as Kanye West is facing another lawsuit, this time in connection with allegations of punching a man at the famed Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood.
As first reported by TMZ, the suit in question finds Ye, whose Bully album recently opened at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, being accused of battery and infliction of emotional distress in connection with a past encounter involving an unnamed man identified only as John Doe. Per court docs cited in the report, Ye is alleged to have approached the man at a table and punched him.
According to the accuser, he was knocked to the floor by the punch, at which point he struck his head and “lost consciousness.” Ye is further alleged to have continued punching the man, with the John Doe at the center of the suit claiming he was erroneously accused of unspecified inappropriate conduct involving a woman who was with Ye at the time.
As of this writing, documents associated with the suit did not appear to have made its way online via Los Angeles County Superior Court. Complex has reached out to a rep for Ye, as well as the Chateau Marmont, for comment. This story may be updated.
A separate report from the New York Post, citing the same lawsuit, dates the incident to April 2024, the same month Ye made headlines for allegedly punching a man at the Chateau Marmont, with initial reports—including this one from TMZ—claiming that the man was one half of a set of twins known for their work in the local restaurant and bar ecosystem. As claimed at the time, Ye is said to have allegedly punched the wrong twin after an incident involving his wife, Bianca Censori.
In a 2024 interview with Justin LaBoy, Ye appeared to address the same incident, saying that Censori was walking to the bathroom when a man “grabbed” her. Ye said he “didn’t see it directly,” but added that he first spoke with security in an effort to have the man removed, albeit unsuccessfully. Then, according to Ye, he approached the man himself.
“I talked to the guy and said, ‘Yo, you just need to leave right now,’” Ye said at the time. “He’s like, ‘It’s okay, it’s okay.’ It’s like, no, it’s not okay. It wasn’t okay. Then he saw it wasn’t okay. He had to go to bed early. Tucked this n***a in.”
In January of this year, Ye spoke at length about his struggles with bipolar disorder, and more, in a full-page Wall Street Journal ad.
