Lawsuit filed by former project manager tied to the controversial redesign of the Malibu beachfront property.
Bianca Censori and her husband Ye, formerly Kanye West, both testified in a civil trial involving a handyman who claims he was injured and underpaid while working on the renovation of Ye’s Malibu beachfront home.
The dispute centers on work performed at the estate designed by acclaimed Japanese minimalist architect Tadao Ando. Ye had pursued an ambitious redesign that would have transformed the home into what was described in court as an “off-the-grid” bunker, including unconventional features such as slides replacing some staircases.
Censori, a 31-year-old Australian-born architect with a master’s degree in architecture, said she was hired in 2021 to assist with the renovation before she married Ye. She testified that she was removed from the project around the time handyman Tony Saxon was brought in to work on the property.
Saxon has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $1 million in damages, alleging unpaid wages, unsafe working conditions and wrongful termination. He claims Ye hired him as a project manager for the multimillion-dollar renovation but that he was paid only once during the roughly seven weeks he worked at the site.
Attorneys for Ye have disputed Saxon’s claims, arguing he was not a full-time employee but instead worked as an unlicensed contractor. Under California law, individuals performing contractor work without a license are generally barred from seeking compensation for unpaid wages.
A central question in the trial is whether Saxon misrepresented his credentials. Censori testified that Saxon claimed to have the qualifications needed for the work.
Ye himself took the witness stand Friday to testify in the lawsuit filed by Saxon. Courtroom observers said the rapper appeared largely disengaged during questioning.
Several journalists covering the proceedings described Ye as appearing drowsy and repeatedly responding that he did not recall key details related to the project. According to Rolling Stone, Ye “repeatedly yawned, closed his eyes for long stretches, and at times seemed to catch his head falling forward as if dozing while seated on the witness stand.”
The magazine reported that the behavior prompted glances among people in the courtroom gallery. At one point, Ron Zambrano, Saxon’s attorney, appeared to mouth to a colleague, “Is he asleep?”
When asked about plans to replace the home’s staircases with slides, Ye disputed the claim, saying he only intended for one staircase to be converted.
During his testimony, Ye said he had only a vague recollection of Saxon’s hiring and was unsure who formally brought him onto the project. He was the final witness to testify in the case.
