Kanye West seeks trial delay from judge over ‘negative media coverage’ amid struggle to find legal aid

Kanye West seeks a trial delay against ex-employee Tony Saxon, citing challenges in securing legal representation due to ‘negative media coverage’.

Kanye West has requested a Los Angeles judge to delay his upcoming trial against his ex-employee, Tony Saxon, citing difficulty in securing legal representation due to "negative media coverage." According to In Touch, the rapper, through his attorney Manoj Shah, asked for the trial, which is currently scheduled for February 24, to be postponed.

Kanye West has requested to delay his trial against Tony Saxon, his ex-employee, due to issues in obtaining legal counsel linked to 'negative media coverage.'(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

West requests court trial be postponed

Tony Saxon filed his discrimination lawsuit against Kanye West in September 2023. Kanye's former lawyer, Brian Brumfield, stepped down from representing him in court in July 2024. Brian, at the time, explained, “[Ye] terminated relationship on 6/21/2024. [Ye] also will not speak to counsel and [Ye] refuses to pay counsel as well.”

West’s lawyer explained that the rapper “faced extreme hardship and difficulty retaining litigation counsel, due to exceedingly negative media coverage of Defendants,” as reported by InTouch. Shah explained, “ Defendants were unable to retain counsel.” He shared that West recently hired a new lawyer, Eduardo Martorell, to handle his ongoing legal battles. He explained that Eduardo has taken over as lead counsel in several of West’s pending cases.

However, Shah also added that Eduardo still needs more time, stating, “Ye’s extreme difficulties with retention of trial counsel” were addressed at a recent hearing. He also assured the court that the rapper was prepared to engage Eduardo as his lawyer for this case, and the latter was prepared to accept the case, but, “only if this court is able to continue to the trial date, and all related deadlines and cut-off dates.” West and his legal team requested the court to delay the trial date to August or “the next available date thereafter.”

Tony Saxon accuses West of discrimination

As previously reported, Saxon accused the rapper of discrimination and retaliation in the lawsuit. He stated that he worked for West from September 2021 to November 2021, serving as a 24/7 security guard for his former property in Malibu, California. In his lawsuit, Saxon claimed that he was required to sleep on the floor since no beds were provided. He also alleged that he was promised $20,000 per week for his services. According to him, he was fired after refusing to comply with certain demands, which led him to file a discrimination lawsuit.