Kanye West Sued by Photographer Four Months After Throwing Her Phone During 'Traumatizing and Humiliating' Confrontation
June 1 2023, Published 11:57 a.m. ET
Kanye West was sued this week nearly four months after grabbing and throwing a photographer’s phone during a heated confrontation in California, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The initial incident took place in January when the already embattled Donda rapper was returning home with his new wife, Bianca Censori, after one of daughter North’s basketball games.
According to the alleged victim who filed the lawsuit against West this week, Nichol Lechmanik, the 45-year-old rapper was confronting another paparazzi before he turned his attention to her.
"You all ain't gonna run up on me like that!" West reportedly shouted as Lechmanik sat behind the wheel of her car. "If I say stop, stop with your cameras."
West then reportedly grabbed Lechmanik’s phone and threw the device into oncoming traffic before leaving the scene.
Although the rapper-turned-fashion designer was later named a suspect in a battery investigation connected to the incident, he was ultimately cleared of the charges against him.
TMZ reported that Lechmanik felt compelled to sue West because she was “traumatized and humiliated” as a result of the confrontation.
The female paparazzi also argued that she “lost earnings” because she was not able to work without her phone. Lechmanik sued West for assault, battery, and negligence.
Additionally, West’s alleged victim also reportedly requested an injunction that would prohibit the rapper from “touching, annoying, or threatening” not only herself but any photographer that is caught taking pictures of West.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Lechmanik’s newly filed lawsuit against West came just days after the embattled rapper was also sued by GAP for a whopping $2 million over an alleged breach of contract.
West is accused of making “numerous, significant, and unapproved modifications” to a building owned by the Art City Center during the rapper’s Yeezy partnership with GAP in 2021 and 2022.
The clothing company said West made numerous alterations to the building at the premises without GAP’s approval and “much less pursuant to the terms of the Agreement.”
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“The performance of the work not only breached the Strategic Agreement, but the manner of preparing for and performing the work caused the need for the repairs and restoration alleged in the complaint,” the $2 million lawsuit, which was first filed in April, read.
“By making and not repairing or restoring the foregoing alterations of the Premises that [West] made without GAP’s participation or approval, [West] breached the Strategic Agreement and directly and proximately caused GAP to incur expenses to repair and restore the premises.”
