Kanye West‘s Jeen-Yuhs filmmakers have been sued for dredging up a woman’s “dark past.”
According to TMZ, directors Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah, along with Netflix, have been named as defendants in a lawsuit from Chicago native Cynthia Love, who makes an appearance in Kanye’s “Through the Wire” music video that was originally released in 2003.
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Filed on Monday (April 17), the lawsuit claims Love was in an “altered state and not capable of providing consent” at the time and was upset that an extended version of the visual was shown in the Jeen-Yuhs documentary.
Love is seen dancing in a restaurant in “Through the Wire” and says she was paid $20 for her role in the video for Kanye West’s breakthrough single.
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She claims her cameo appearance represents a part of her past she wants to leave behind, having since been sober for 18 years, held down long-term jobs and repaired relationships with friends and family.
Love also says the documentary revealed her “dark past” to people weren’t aware of her background, forcing her to “rehash bad memories.”
As for consent, she claims Coodie Simmons told her son he assumed she was dead instead of trying to contact her before the documentary came out.
Love alleges the footage has caused her emotional distress and harmed her reputation. She is seeking a minimum of $30,000 in damages, a figure based on the $30 million Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah reportedly made from the film.
The three-part Jeen-Yuhs premiered on Netflix in February 2022 and documented the rollercoaster life of Kanye West through intimate, never-before-seen footage, dating back to his early career.
It received a nomination for Best Music Documentary at the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards and Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.
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Attention around the documentary also helped Kanye’s debut album The College Dropout re-chart as high as No. 18 on the Billboard 200.
