Ye Tentatively Settles Donda Academy Guard’s Discrimination Suit Over Dreadlocks Firing Claim
Ye has tentatively settled the discrimination lawsuit brought by a former Donda Academy security guard who says he was fired for refusing to cut his dreadlocks — a conditional deal that, if finalized, closes another of the legal fights trailing the shuttered school.
The guard, Benjamin Deshon Provo, sued in Los Angeles Superior Court in April 2024. He alleged he was fired in 2023 after refusing to shave his dreads, which he wore in keeping with his Muslim faith and cultural traditions, and contended members of Ye’s management team forced him to choose between “critical aspects of his self-identity and financial stability.” Provo worked at Donda Academy and for Yeezy, Ye’s apparel company.
Ye’s attorneys had asked the court to dismiss the suit in whole or in part. In their filings, his lawyers noted Provo was hired through a security firm, Best Way Protection, in 2021 and had acknowledged he did not agree to a fixed employment term.
On Friday (November 6), Provo’s attorneys filed papers with Judge Brock T. Hammond notifying the court of a “conditional” resolution of the case, with a request for dismissal expected by December 21. No terms were disclosed. A conditional settlement is not final until its conditions are met and the dismissal is filed.
The case had been among the most closely watched of the Donda Academy lawsuits: Provo had sought roughly $23 million in damages, according to earlier reports, and the trial had recently been pushed toward May 2027. Donda Academy closed in June 2024. ITSBIZKIT will update this story when the dismissal lands.
Sources: MyNewsLA (court reporting); AllHipHop.
