Kanye West's Lawyer Says Trial Prep Is Delayed, Seeks Postponement Due to Rapper's Russia Tour

Kanye West’s lawyer urged the court to delay his upcoming trial in the Donda Academy civil lawsuit as he is too busy preparing for the Russia tour.

Per TMZ, West's legal team filed a motion last week in which they cited reasons to push back the trial date from October 12, claiming that the plaintiff, Benjamin Provo, and his lawyer have been uncooperative during depositions and discovery.

As a result, the rapper and his team haven't had enough time to prepare for the upcoming trial properly.

The documents also stated that the rapper has previously pointed out that the October 12 date for starting the trial would be difficult for him.

Particularly because he is scheduled to perform in Russia on October 10 and 11, which would leave him with no time to rest and prepare before appearing in front of a judge.

Per the outlet, St. Petersburg's Gazprom Arena was previously booked for the upcoming shows.

However, the venue reportedly backed out last month.

Per The Blast, the venue made a statement noting that they had not signed a rental agreement for those dates.

Meanwhile, Say Agency, a Moscow-based tour promoter, came out with its own statement that the scheduled concert has not been canceled and that the venue backed out of hosting the rapper's shows after agreeing to it beforehand.

The agency also clarified that they are searching for another venue for the concert to continue.

However, any replacement location hasn't been publicly confirmed as of yet.

In the documents obtained by TMZ, the Yeezy owner also noted that due to Milo Yiannopoulos, who served as his chief of staff during the time the alleged incident took place, being “recently and very publicly deported” by ICE, it would be difficult for him to make preparations for the trial.

As per his legal team, his former chief of staff is “one of the people most knowledgeable about the allegations in the lawsuit.”

West was sued by Provo in April 2024.

The plaintiff claimed that he worked as a security guard at Donda Academy from August 2021.

During his time of employment, he alleged that he faced racial discrimination from the rapper and some members of his management.

In fact, he accused his former employer of treating Black employees far less favorably than their White counterparts, per TMZ.

Provo also alleged in the lawsuit that his salary was reduced after he raised concerns about pay discrepancies.

The former security guard further accused the rapper of demanding that he cut his dreadlocks despite knowing that they were tied to his faith in Islam.

He was allegedly later fired after he refused to cut his dreadlocks.

Per the outlet, West and his lawyer urged the judge to push back the trial date to May 17, 2027, or a different date that might be mutually beneficial for all parties.

The rapper is also seeking sanctions against Provo and his attorneys for being uncooperative during the pretrial phase.