Who is Isaiah Meadows? Teacher at Kanye West’s Donda Academy claims school didn't have windows as rapper ‘did not like glass'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Heartless' rapper Kanye West, notorious for sparking a string of scandals in 2022, is being sued after a former employee of his private school in California claimed that he was sacked for reporting unsafe conditions in the school. As per the lawsuit obtained by the Guardian, Ye was identified as a defendant in a claim made by Isaiah Meadows, a former gym teacher of the Yeezy Christian Academy, a private Christian school founded by the rapper.
Meadows claimed in his case, which was submitted to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, that he was terminated in August 2022 for raising concerns about security risks at the school, which was later named Donda Academy. The 'All Falls Down' rapper, 46, allegedly forbade the installation of glass in the window frames, which led to Meadows' assertion that students were "exposed to the elements" in the lawsuit.
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Who is Isaiah Meadows?
Isaiah Meadows started working at the school as an assistant principal in 2020 and received a salary of $18,400 a month. The teacher claimed he was offered rental aid in order to finance a house near the school in Calabasas. But according to him, his rent was only paid for the first three months. Meadows claimed that after voicing issues about the way the school was run, his rental assistance was revoked and he was fired from his job.
'Because [Ye] expressed that he did not like glass'
Meadows estimated that he spent approximately $60,000 in total to pay the remaining rent and claimed that while serving as assistant principal, he alerted school authorities to a variety of health and safety concerns. The former teacher said in the lawsuit that the school's main classroom lacked glass in its skylight "because [Ye] expressed that he did not like glass" and further reported that water rushed into the classroom, leaving a rotten odor.
'An electrical fire started near the student eating area'
Meadows claimed that at Yeezy Christian Academy, "an electrical fire started near the student eating area" as a result of inadequate electrical wiring. In addition to having problems with its septic tank, which would "overflow every other day, causing a terrible smell," the unaccredited school also lacked hot water, according to the lawsuit. The teacher was later put back in place, however, he was demoted rather than recruited back as an assistant principal.
'Interior of the building exposed to the elements'
The institution relocated and changed its name to Donda Academy. But Meadows claimed that issues continued. Donda Academy didn't have electricity for its first three months of operation, the teacher alleged, despite charging $15,000 a year. Teachers had to provide lessons "under commercial flood lamps powered by a generator." Meadows reported that the school also lacked glass in its windows, "leaving the interior of the building exposed to the elements, again, because [Ye] did not like glass." Donda Academy experienced similar septic tank issues.
What did Meadows' lawyer say?
Meadows was let go in August 2022, two weeks before the start of the fall semester at Academy, and informed he would not be returning. The teacher reportedly said in the lawsuit that he was wrongfully paid and subjected to retaliation. Ron Zambrano, a lawyer for Meadows and other plaintiffs who have filed complaints against Ye, described the situation at the school as "just absolutely egregious." Donda Academy was shuttered in 2022 in the wake of criticism involving a number of antisemitic statements made by Ye. The school administrators announced their intention to reopen in September 2023.
