Kanye West settles lawsuit with ex-assistant after accusations of sexual assault, sex trafficking and wrongful termination

Warning: this article contains distressing details

Kanye West has reached a legal settlement with his former assistant, following her accusing him of sexual assault, sex trafficking, and wrongful termination.

The assistant, Lauren Pisciotta, first filed the lawsuit against the rapper in June 2024, having worked for him between 2021 and 2023. In her filing, she alleged that during her employment she was subject to sexual harassment, breach of contract, and wrongful termination.

West’s legal team denied all accusations of wrongdoing, calling the allegations “baseless”. They also argued that the lawsuit was an attempt at “blackmail and extortion”, adding that Pisciotta was fired as she was “unqualified” and demanded “unreasonable sums of money, including a $4million (£2.9million)annual salary”, as per a statement from the rapper’s publicist (via Rolling Stone).

The legal team also claimed that there were “numerous documented incidents of her lascivious, unhinged conduct” which led to her being terminated.

One year on, the former assistant filed an updated lawsuit, accusing her former employer of stalking, sexual battery, sex trafficking, and false imprisonment.

As reported by Page Six, the court documents said that the rapper “subjected Ms. Pisciotta to obscene comments about her body, demanded she wear tight fitting clothing [and] groped her on a regular basis.”

Kanye West settles sexual harassment lawsuit with former assistant https://t.co/yRDvvE1m0y pic.twitter.com/o8YiCBQmRK

— Page Six (@PageSix) July 29, 2026

The filing also alleged that she was “forced to watch Ye perform sexual acts with other women” and that West “sent her sexually explicit pictures and demanded she do the same, and repeatedly demanded that she join his sexual encounters, which she refused.”

The updated lawsuit also claimed that there was one instance where Ye “attempted to vaginally penetrate Ms. Pisciotta with his fingers”, and “orally raped her without her consent”.

Four months on from then, Pisciotta updated the filing once again, adding that Ye allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted her at a recording session at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ studio.

West’s legal team have repeatedly denied all allegations.

Now, West and Pisciotta have reached a settlement, according to court documents obtained by USA Today.

The decision was allegedly reached on July 23, although details about the settlement have not been disclosed. Pisciotta must now file a dismissal request within 45 days.

Speaking to USA Today, Pisciotta’s attorney, Arick Fudali, simply said: “The matter has been resolved.”

Representatives for West have not yet spoken publicly about the settlement. NME has reached out for comment.

Kanye West sued for allegedly drugging, sexually assaulting ex-assistant at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs studio session https://t.co/t8S65MSafv pic.twitter.com/3hwRnKCRpb

— Page Six (@PageSix) October 12, 2024

Controversy around West dates back to 2022, when he made a series of antisemitic posts on social media, leading to suspensions from Instagram and X and the loss of major business partnerships, including Adidas and Balenciaga.

In early 2025, he retracted a previous apology to the Jewish community, once again declaring himself “a Nazi” on X, before later posted that, “after further reflection”, he had come to the realisation that he was not one.

In January, Ye published a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal apologising for antisemitic and other offensive comments. In the letter, he linked his behaviour to mental health struggles and said he was committed to accountability, treatment and change.

Ye released his latest album ‘Bully’ in March, after debuting it via a YouTube livestream.

His return to touring has been repeatedly affected by backlash to his antisemitic comments and use of Nazi imagery. In April, Wireless Festival cancelled its 2026 event after the UK government blocked Ye from entering the country. He had been booked to headline all three nights of the London festival.

Planned shows in Poland and Switzerland were also cancelled amid backlash, while a French date was postponed and an Italian show was pulled over safety concerns.

A number of other dates have gone ahead, however. Ye has performed this year at SoFi Stadium in California, and in Istanbul, where he claimed to have drawn 118,000 people and broken the record for the largest stadium performance in history. He has also played dates in the Netherlands, and he currently has shows listed for Albania, Spain, Portugal and Chicago.

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