Why is Kanye facing a lawsuit? Reason explored as production company sues singer

American rapper and singer Kanye West, now known as Ye, has been sued by a production company over unpaid bills amounting to nearly $7 million. Phantom Labs, a production company which describes itself as a creative technology firm, has worked with the singer on various events. They are now suing Ye for breach of contract, seeking $7 million in damages.

The development comes just days after The David Casavant Archive, a high-end fashion rental service, sued Ye for over $400,000. He reportedly owes the company in unpaid fees and failed to return more than a dozen rare and valuable fashion pieces.

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Kanye West's Coachella cancelation leads to legal trouble for the rapper

Production company Phantom Labs has worked with the artist on various projects, including his Sunday Service events, the Donda 2 listening party, and the Free Larry Hoover Show with Drake. They also worked on the rapper’s headline set for the Coachella festival, which the rapper bailed on just two weeks before it was scheduled to take place. He was later replaced by The Weeknd X Swedish House Mafia.

Variety quoted a Phantom spokesperson as saying:

“We are incredibly proud of the work that we did with Ye and are disappointed that such a fruitful relationship has come to this. A celebrity weaponising fame and reputation to take advantage of eager collaborators is simply unacceptable."

Ye canceling Coachella’s headline set played a major role in shaping the legal dispute as the company allegedly incurred $1.1 million losses in related cancelation fees. As per TMZ, Phantom was owed over $6 million by the time work began on the festival set.

However, they were reportedly told that those bills would be paid off from the $9 million Kanye was set to make from his performances at Coachella as headliner. Phantom, in the complaint, has noted that West started paying the owed money initially but stopped after a while.

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Kanye sued by fashion company for breach of contract

Phantom Labs sued Kanye merely days after a high-end fashion rental service, The David Casavant Archive, sued the singer for breach of oral contract, conversion, and unjust enrichment. David Casavant filed the lawsuit against Ye and his label, Yeezy Apparel.

According to the lawsuit filed, Ye and his label started renting items from the Archive since 2015, for both professional engagements and personal wear. The artist rented 49 items through his label and returned only 36 of them to the fashion label. The remaining 13 items remained with him, and the rapper paid the weekly rental fee of those items only until October 29, 2020.

As Ye stopped paying rent for those 13 items, David Casavant reportedly handed out multiple rental invoices to Kanye, who did not respond to calls and emails. He is yet to pay the amount. As per the lawsuit, the singer will have to pay at least $416,910 in damages to the archive.