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Controversial rapper Kanye West aimed to revolutionize education with Donda Academy. But the now-shuttered school was plagued by a string of problems, from classrooms that lacked electricity to bizarre teaching methods, according to various lawsuits. 

“The idea of the school was magnificent,” one former teacher told the Los Angeles Times. “The execution was chaos.”

Kanye West’s Donda Academy was a ‘free-for-all’

West – also known as Ye – founded Yeezy Christian Academy, which eventually became Donda Academy, in 2020. The K-12 private “gospel school” in Southern California was committed to giving “kids practical tools that they need in a world post the iPhone being created,” the hip-hop artist said in a 2022 interview with Good Morning America. 

“So many schools are made to set kids up for industries that don’t even matter anymore,” he said. West also claimed that Donda Academy had employees who could “actually turn your kids into, like, geniuses.” Classes at the school included worship, core study in language arts, math, and science, and electives such as film, choice, and parkour.

But the big promises didn’t pan out in reality. The school struggled from the start, according to various people who spoke to the LA Times. Problems worsened once West came under fire for increasingly strange personal behavior, including making anti-semitic comments and praising Hitler. Meanwhile, students were left in the lurch. 

“It was a lot of disorder and chaos,” Chekarey Byers, who taught fifth grade, said in an interview. “Donda didn’t really have any structure. They had books that they had bought that were just sitting on shelves. Kids were just playing all day. It was just a free-for-all.” 

Bullying was an issue at Kanye West’s school, lawsuit claims 

Several employees, including the executive director, left not long after starting to work with West. Others were fired, including the former assistant principal who says he was let go after complaining about various health and safety issues, including exposed wiring and a lack of hot water. 

Eventually, multiple former teachers and employees sued West and the school, alleging wrongful termination, a hostile work environment, and other issues. Their lawsuits paint a picture of a troubled environment for students, teachers, and staff. Bullying went unaddressed because Donda Academy didn’t have a proper disciplinary system, books about Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were banned, and at one point, West demanded that staff and children shave their heads. Enrollment numbers dwindled, and the state of California threatened to revoke the school’s tax-exempt status because it had not submitted required documents. 

Lawyers for West and Donda Academy have denied the allegations against the rapper and his school. In March, Byers and several other plaintiffs reached a settlement with the school. Other lawsuits are still pending. Donda Academy closed for good in June 2024.

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