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Kanye West is facing several active legal cases, but he may be barred from using a particular defense. The rapper also faced a lawsuit filed by one of his former staffers, Benjamin Provo. In a new update, the plaintiff, who previously worked as a security guard at Donda Academy, asked the court to prevent Ye from using an insanity defense.

Provo sued West over alleged racial discrimination, wrongful termination, and h——— after he was allegedly fired because of his hairstyle. According to TMZ, he recently moved to the court, asking the judge to block the rapper from claiming that he was of ‘unsound mind’ at the time of the alleged incidents. The court documents obtained by the news outlet revealed that Provo claimed West was making the request right before their case was scheduled to go to trial.

The rapper’s former employee also alleged that he has not filed any medical records or provided the court with testimony to prove his insanity. Moreover, he has reportedly not even selected an expert to speak in his favor and testify regarding his claimed mental health issues. Instead, Provo claimed that his former employer “repeatedly indicated that he had been of sound mind during the events underlying the case.”

To prove his claims, Provo pointed to an exchange in which the 49-year-old admitted to being in the right state of mind at the time. He was asked, “Do you feel like around the time you had the [Donda] school, you were not yourself around that time?” The rapper replied, “No. I think that was close to me being myself, but people change, though, too.”

West further added to his reply that when he intends to do something good, he “still ends up in deposition.” Provo then argued that although West admitted to preferring his employees to have a uniform look, he still denied firing him over his dreadlocks. His former staffer also claimed in his lawsuit that West discriminated between his White employees and those of color.

According to The Independent, West also took action in the case last month. The Runaway rapper was seeking to postpone the trial. He reportedly asked the judge to move the date from October to the next spring, in May, claiming that Provo stalled on giving an out-of-court testimony.

Provo filed the lawsuit against West in 2024. “Kanye and members of his management team subjected Provo and other Black employees to less favorable treatment than their white counterparts,” the filing read. It further claimed that Ye also screamed at the plaintiff while he was employed.

West’s attorney also contended in their court papers that Provo refused their request for a deposition. “Despite months of repeated requests from defendants, plaintiff Benjamin Deshon Provo has refused to sit for deposition, and his counsel had refused to offer any dates for his deposition,” the papers read.

They also argued that the plaintiff’s deposition testimony is crucial for the case. They claimed that it was “essential to the fair determination of this action. More details about the case are still awaited. Meanwhile, the case is set to go to trial in October.

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