Ye appeared in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Friday for testimony in a $1 million lawsuit filed by his former project manager, Tony Saxon, and spent much of his time on the stand yawning, closing his eyes for extended periods and at times appearing to nod off entirely. Saxon’s attorney Ron Zambrano reportedly turned to a colleague mid-questioning and mouthed a question about whether the rapper had fallen asleep, a moment that was noticed by the judge, who then asked the attorney to move through the questions at a faster pace.
When Ye did respond to questions, his answers were largely limited to single words or statements that he could not remember. He drew blanks on a trip to McDonald’s with Saxon, a visit to a hardware store and an emergency call about Saxon running out of gas on the road.
He did find clarity on a few specific points. When asked whether he recalled Saxon having a noticeable body odor problem, Ye confirmed without hesitation that he did. He also clarified that he only wanted one staircase in the mansion replaced with a slide rather than all of them, and that the plumbing was not being removed entirely but replaced with an alternative system. He asked early in his testimony to be addressed simply as Ye.
What the lawsuit is about and what Saxon claims
Saxon says Ye hired him in 2021 as a project manager for the renovation of a $57.3 million Malibu mansion designed by architect Tadao Ando. The property was purchased with ambitious plans to make it self-sufficient and off the grid, but the renovation stripped the building to a concrete shell. When the mansion was sold in 2024 for $21 million, a loss of more than $36 million, it had no windows, no doors, no electricity and no plumbing.
Saxon alleges his role extended far beyond project management. He claims he was required to work 16 to 18-hour days overseeing demolition and construction, managing contractors and serving simultaneously as a live-in caretaker and security guard. He says he was made to sleep on a thin mattress on bare concrete and that when he raised concerns about the safety risks of running large indoor generators, Ye fired him. His lawsuit seeks $1 million in unpaid wages and damages, and he has also alleged he suffered a physical injury during the renovation for which he is seeking medical costs.
Bianca Censori testified the day before
Ye’s wife, Bianca Censori, took the stand Thursday and confirmed that Saxon had been let go. She characterized his dismissal as unsurprising given how the project had unfolded and claimed he had misrepresented his professional qualifications, saying she had directly asked him whether he held a contractor’s license and that he had told her he did. Saxon has disputed that account, telling the court previously that he had been transparent from the beginning about having no formal contracting credentials.
A growing list of lawsuits against Ye
Saxon’s case is one of several legal actions Ye is facing. In 2024, former assistant Lauren Pisciotta sued him for sexual harassment, breach of contract and wrongful termination, alleging he offered her $1 million to delete her OnlyFans account before sending inappropriate messages and failing to pay an agreed severance of $3 million.
Also in 2024, former employee Trevor Phillips sued Ye for workplace discrimination during his time at Donda Academy, alleging that Ye regularly screamed at Black employees, made clear he would terminate anyone he considered overweight and publicly humiliated Phillips in front of roughly 100 people. Two former teachers at Donda Academy filed separate suits against Ye for failing to meet Department of Education requirements.
The current trial is expected to continue for several more weeks.
