Kanye West allegedly wanted to instill “Hitler vibes” at his Donda Academy, according to a teacher who used to work at the school.
Cecilia Hailey is suing Kanye for wrongful termination and has spoken to The U.S. Sun about her time working at the Los Angeles school, which has since closed down.
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She claims that the controversial rapper wanted students to receive firearms training and be taught how to march.
“He wanted all the children to be educated in how to carry a gun, how to shoot a gun,” Hailey said. “I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I’m not having my third graders out learning how to shoot rifles, absolutely not.”
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She added: “Teaching these kids to march, to be honest with you I kind of got like Hitler vibes around that or real bizarre things.”
Hailey also said the school had a problem with bullying: “There was a lot of bullying. Kids were getting physical; they would fight, the bigger kids would fight the little kids.
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“So you might have a fourth grader hitting on a kindergarten or a first grader. We had kids hiding under tables because they were afraid. It was mayhem, really.”
Another unnamed former teacher who is also suing Kanye West alleged: “He was going to teach the kids how to survive in the wilderness, hunting, camping, and how to load and shoot firearms.”
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Kanye has not yet responded to the allegations.
The Chicago native was defended by Malik Yusef, who was previously signed to G.O.O.D. Music, is a credited writer on many Kanye songs and also worked as an advisor to the Donda Academy.
“I think there was some frivolity to those lawsuits, I think people get a chance to pile in and dogpile on Ye because he has money,” he told The U.S. Sun.
Hailey, along with her daughter Chekarey Byers, sued Kanye for wrongful termination in April 2023 and the case will go to trial next spring.
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The lawsuit described goings on at the school which included knives and forks being banned, students only being fed sushi for lunch and classes only being held on the ground floor due to Ye’s alleged fear of stairs.
There was also a strict all-black dress code with students prohibited from wearing jewelry, as well as any clothing from Nike or Adidas.
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The school was founded in 2020 by Kanye as a tribute to his mother, who worked as a teacher and lecturer for more than 30 years.