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TV: The Central Plot Point for “The Idol” Premiere Episode is Too Disgusting To Talk About Here or With Your Friends, Celebrates Vulgarity (And Not the Good Kind)

Roger Friedman
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TV: The Central Plot Point for “The Idol” Premiere Episode is Too Disgusting To Talk About Here or With Your Friends, Celebrates Vulgarity (And Not the Good Kind)

Someone call Olivia Benson to arrest these people!

Sunday night comes the premiere episode of HBO’s “The Idol.” Pop star The Weeknd stars with Lily Rose Depp, daughter of Johnny Depp.

A bunch of good actors play supporting roles including Jane Adams, Eli Roth, Hank Azaria, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Troye Sivan, Hari Nef, and Dan Levy. They are all supremely unlikeable, actually detestable characters. There’s no one to root for.

Depp is naked most of the time. So that’s one thing. “Idol” is an R rated show, leaning toward NC-17.

The Weeknd shouldn’t quit his day job.

The singer’s first big hit was called “I Can’t Feel My Face.” That could be the title of this episode. The major plot point is that Depp’s Jocelyn has taken a selfie of her face splattered with (I’m sorry to write this) male splurge. They call it something else. It’s discussed endlessly and the selfie, which is shown, goes viral. I dare you to discuss this, with their wording, to your friends or family.

The show is disgusting. Unlike director Sam Levinson’s “Euphoria.” there is no heart here. It’s just a dark piece of coal at its center. It seems like the whole point is to suggest the music business is just vulgar and coarse. Mental health is treated like a punchline. Not only that, Roth engages with Adams in “banter” that is nothing but antisemitic. You will cringe from their conversations. Azaria sports an accent he would have been better off leaving at home, His presence is in stark contrast to his brilliant guest spot on “Mrs. Maisel” this season.

Don’t blame me if you watch this thing only to turn it off. HBO cannot do rock and roll shows. The cursed “Vinyl” was like “Succession” compared to his garbage.

Queen $1 Billion Catalog Deal Very Possible Says Expert: Freddie Mercury’s Heirs, Like Mary Austin, And Band Members Could Become Very, Very Rich

Roger Friedman
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Queen $1 Billion Catalog Deal Very Possible Says Expert: Freddie Mercury’s Heirs, Like Mary Austin, And Band Members Could Become Very, Very Rich

When Freddie Mercury died in 1991 at age 45 he left half his estate to his friend and “common law wife,” Mary Austin. The other half went to his parents, his sister, and her family.

At the time, in 1991, the estate was valued at 75 million British pounds. But thirty years later, everything is about to change as the publishing rights and recorded rights to the Queen catalog are about to be sold.

I spoke to a couple of actual insiders about a report that the deal could be worth $1 billion. Is this possible, I wondered? Queen’s songs, I suggested, are very eccentric and not that usable for commercials, and so on. The answer I got surprised me.

“Yes!” said a source who knows this stuff. “Most of the big stars who control their own catalogs have sold. Dylan, Bruce, Sting, and so on. There aren’t that many left. Maybe Dolly Parton, or Pink Floyd if they could get it together. The Bee Gees. Elton John would be off the charts. Imagine if the Beatles’ songs were available. Or the Motown catalog in this environment. So Queen is huge. Top of the list.”

Part of the incredible reality here doesn’t sink in. We remember Freddie Mercury as a young man. But he would be 77 this year, the same age as those big rock stars who’ve sold their catalogs. If he were alive, he’d probably be doing the same thing.

I’m told that a billion may be a bit high, but the Queen catalog could be anything north of $750 million. Queen is selling both the song publishing and the rights to all the master recordings. They have a lot of hits like “We Are the Champions,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Under Pressure,” and so on. Their greatest hits often pops up in the top 40 albums among contemporary artists.

A source says of the rumor that Universal Music Group might take it all: “It’s possible since Queen’s records are there. But their song publishing is at Sony. This could be two sales totaling between $750 mil and $900 mil. I would not be surprised.”

I’m told that with the diminishing number of artists left to buy, the big recording companies and all the catalog companies like Hipgnosis and Primary Wave armed with private financing and they have do something with it, or lose it. They’re ready to spend.

So get ready. Once a deal is done, you may hear “Bohemian Rhapsody” split in pieces to use in commercials. Think of a commercial with the intro “Is this the real life/Or is it fantasy?” floating to reveal a new car, a tech company, or a bar of soap. Crazier things have happened.

If this comes to pass, those heirs I mentioned could be splitting a huge pot of gold. And they wouldn’t be alone. The deal will also buy out the other members of the group for both the recordings and the publishing. For example Brian May wrote many of the hits in the catalog including “We Will Rock You.” John Deacon wrote “You’re My Best Friend.” Roger Taylor wrote “I’m in Love with My Car.” All three of us those could be recycled into commercials for decades to come, making a billion dollars not seem unreasonable.

More on Cynthia Weil: Mike Stoller, Carole King, Neil Sedaka Remember Their Brilliant Brill Building Songwriting Friend and Lyricist

Roger Friedman
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More on Cynthia Weil: Mike Stoller, Carole King, Neil Sedaka Remember Their Brilliant Brill Building Songwriting Friend and Lyricist

Cynthia Weil‘s death, reported today, can not go without more conversation.

I spoke to another legend, Mike Stoller, another Brill Building graduate who wrote dozens of hits with his partner, Jerry Leiber. Leiber and and Stoller, Mike told me, worked with Barry and Cynthia Weil to write the all time classic, “On Broadway.”

Stoller, who’s 90, recalled: Barry and Cynthia had written a song called “On Broadway” which Phil Spector recorded with someone, but it didn’t work. Don Kirshner asked if we could re-write it. Jerry and I were working with the Drifters then. We said, Only with their permission. So we all got together at Jerry’s apartment on Central Park West. We were sitting on the floor. Jerry and Cynthia were trading lines. Barry and I were working on the melody. Cynthia was a great lyricist. She was also a sweet, dear person.”

The result of their work was magic. “On Broadway” became an all time standard for the Drifters. Twenty years later, Tommy LiPuma produced George Benson‘s version, giving it a second life.

Mann and Weil wrote dozens of other hits, many that I mentioned in my previous article. But they also wrote “Blame it on the Bossa Nova,” a monster hit for Eydie Gorme in the early days of rock and roll. They also wrote songs for the Crystals like “Uptown” (covered later by Bette Midler), “Only in America” for Jay and the Americans, “We Gotta Get Out of this Place” with the Animals, and “Just a Little Lovin’,” the song Dusty Springfield used to kick off “Dusty in Memphis.” Their contribution to the pop canon cannot be underestimated. Weil’s lyrics were urban poems set to Mann’s jazz-inflected melodies. They reek of romance and a nostalgic New York we yearn for even now.

Carole King via Instagram: “We lost the beautiful, brilliant lyricist Cynthia Weil Mann. The quartet of young songwriters in the image includes (left to right) her husband and cowriter, Barry Mann, Cynthia, my then-husband and cowriter, Gerry Goffin, and me at a BMI dinner in 1962. The four of us were close, caring friends despite our fierce competition to write the next hit for an artist with a #1 song. Sometimes we wrote in different combinations, e.g., Mann and Goffin “Who Put The Bomp?” and King and Weil “One To One.” Cynthia’s high professional standard made us all better songwriters. My favorite Cynthia lyric is, “Just a little lovin’ early in the mornin’ beats a cup of coffee for startin’ out the day.” If we’re lucky, we know this is true, but she wrote it—and then she rhymed “mornin’” with “yawnin'” in the next verse. May the legacy of lyrics by Cynthia Weil continue to speak to and for generations to come. Rest in peace with love and gratitude”

Neil Sedaka, also Insagram: “I am very saddened to hear about the passing of Cynthia Weil. We were very close during our time together at The Brill Building. It’s a great loss to American Pop Music, as she wrote some of the standards that will live on forever. My heart goes out to Barry and the family.

Padma Lakshmi Is Over Cooked at “Top Chef,” Leaving the Show After 20 Seasons, 17 Years

Roger Friedman
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Padma Lakshmi Is Over Cooked at “Top Chef,” Leaving the Show After 20 Seasons, 17 Years

For Padma Lakshmi, the final course has been served at “Top Chef.”

After hosting the show for 20 seasons over the span of 17 years, Padma has said so long. She’s done. Stick a fork in her.

I give Padma a lot of credit. She doesn’t have to work. She was married to the world renown writer Salman Rushdie. Then she was involved with Adam Dell, of Dell Computers. They had a child together although at the time Padma was involved with billionaire buyout king Teddy Forstmann. He died from brain cancer but left her and Dell’s daughter a trust fund.

And still Padma went to work. What will she do next? She’s very rich and beautiful. When I first met her she’d written a cookbook for Harvey Weinstein’s publishing imprint. She’s published several more since then. The world is her oyster, so to speak!

RIP The Legendary Songwriter Cynthia Weil, 82, Wrote Dozens of Hits with Husband Barry Mann at the Brill Building

Roger Friedman
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RIP The Legendary Songwriter Cynthia Weil, 82, Wrote Dozens of Hits with Husband Barry Mann at the Brill Building

This hurts.

Cynthia Weil has passed away at age 82. The legendary songwriter wrote dozens of classic hits with husband Barry Mann at the Brill Building during the time of Carole King, Neil Sedaka, and Neil Diamond. Weil and and Mann were featured characters in the King Broadway musical, “Beautiful.”

Mann and Weil as a team wrote the biggest hit of all time, the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.” From the 60s through just a couple of years ago, that record was the most played on radio ever. They also wrote the Righteous Brothers’ “You’re My Soul and Inspiration.”

The list of songs for the Ronettes and other Phil Spector-connected acts goes on and on. But their hits weren’t just in the 60s. They just kept coming, including BJ Thomas’ “Rock and Roll Lullaby” (1972), Quincy Jones’ “Just Once” (1981) and “Don’t Know Much,” a No. 2 smash cover by Ronstadt and Aaron Neville that earned a Song of the Year Grammy nomination.

They wrote “Make Your Own Kind of Music,” which was recently used in a long ad campaign for Volkswagen. This song, like all their others, always remained fresh and disarmingly modern. With Brenda Russell they wrote “None of Us Are Free,” in 1993, recorded first by Ray Charles, then in 2006 by Sam Moore and Sting

Weil’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, said in a statement: “My mother, Cynthia Weil, was the greatest mother, grandmother and wife our family could ever ask for. She was my best friend, confidante and my partner in crime and an idol and trailblazer for women in music.”

The couple was married for 62 years. Condolences to Barry and his daughter, and all Cynthia’s friends and fans. You couldn’t have known a nicer person. God bless.

Flashback: Paris Hilton Is Re-releasing Her Pop Hit from 2006 — Here’s the Original Story I Broke

Roger Friedman
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Flashback: Paris Hilton Is Re-releasing Her Pop Hit from 2006 — Here’s the Original Story I Broke

Back in the winter of 2006 I was in Los Angeles for the Oscars. Standing under the awning of the Beverly Hills Hotel, waiting for my rented Camry, Paris Hilton emerged from a white van. She played me her new album in my Camry, we sat there and listened. No one had heard it yet. The rest of the story is here.

Why am I bringing this up? She’s just released a remixed version of “Stars Are Blind” with Kim Petras. Now Paris is a married mom, speaking in her own voice, an advocate for abused kids. She was always smart and savvy.

But this is from back in the day. And it’s a great memory!

FROM MARCH 4, 2006**************************************************************

Exclusive: Saturday night, under the carport of the Beverly Hills Hotel. It’s 1:30 a.m., and a white luxury SUV pulls up. The passenger-side back door slides open, and a long leg, finished with a white high heel shoe, reaches down to the ground. Pan up: It belongs to Paris Hilton, in a white mini-dress, with a white fur stole around her shoulders and large pearls around her neck. She is blonde on blonde, dazzling, Marilyn Monroe reincarnated.

“Wait!” she announces as she steps on the pavement. “I forgot my CD!”

It’s her own CD, in fact, that she shows me, one she’s made with a variety of producers including Scott Storch and Dr. Dre.

Don’t be fooled: This CD is coming out whether you like it or not. “It’s scheduled for June,” she says, “on Warner Bros. Tom Whalley is really excited about it.”

That’s the same Warner Music oft-criticized in this column for not breaking new artists. I take it all back now. The company that once boasted a fabled roster of James Taylor, Neil Young, and Bonnie Raitt will release Paris’ debut in June. The track listing, on the CD she showed me, is as follows:

1.) Turn it Up 2.) Turn You On 3.) Stars Are Blind 4.) Jealousy 5.) Heartbeat 6.) Fightin’ Over Me featuring Fat Joe and Jadakiss 7.) Are You With It? 9.) Do You Think I’m Sexy? 9.) Screwed 10.) Not Leaving Without You

You will notice that Paris, always cognizant of history, includes a cover of a No. 1 hit by Rod Stewart, a longtime Warner artist, with “Do You Think I’m Sexy?” She will not win a Grammy or be nominated for one. Believe me, that is all beside the point.

Now here’s the thing about Paris: She is not the ditz you hope her to be. For one thing, she spoke to me in a very distinct, clear adult voice. There was nothing silly about her. “I talk in that baby talk voice when I’m on TV,” she said. “It’s a put on.”

Indeed, the whole Paris mystique is a put on — and one that’s earning her millions of dollars. She actually has kind of an ironic sense of humor. When I asked her what happened to fiancé Paris Latsis, she replied: “He wasn’t hot enough.” She concluded that the latest boyfriend, Stavros Niarchos, “is very hot.”

Me: “But really you’re not getting married or anything, are you?”

Her: “Are you crazy? I’m 25. No way.”

Me: “In fact, you don’t need these boyfriends do you? They’re just ornaments.”

Her: “That’s right.”

She has not-so-nice things to say about her ex-pal Nicole Richie. They’re probably printable, but hey — this isn’t the Star.

Suddenly, I am fascinated by Paris Hilton. She is living the American dream. She is P.T. Barnum, Marilyn Monroe and Donald Trump all rolled into one, thriving on every gossip item like they’re hits of oxygen.

I have nothing bad to say about Paris Hilton at all. We are underestimating this kid.

It was 56 Years Ago Today: The Beatles Released “Sgt. Pepper,” Still the Greatest Album of All Time, and Music Was Changed Forever

Roger Friedman
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It was 56 Years Ago Today: The Beatles Released “Sgt. Pepper,” Still the Greatest Album of All Time, and Music Was Changed Forever

It was June 2nd, a week later than in Britain, when the Beatles released :”Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” in 1967.

It’s still the greatest and most influential album of all time, and the best complete Beatles album.

Plenty has been written by “Sgt. Pepper” and you think you probably know it all. But listen to it again. It’s as fresh, winning, and remarkable as ever.

Recently there was a lot of press about “Revolver” when it was re-released in a spiffy, updated version. Ye, “Revolver” was revolutionary. But “Pepper” was way beyond compare. It ushered in the Beatles’ unparalleled final, sophisticated “adult” chapter that would include The White Album, Abbey Road, Let it Be, “Hey Jude,” “Revolution,” and all the other adjunct pieces like “Yellow Submarine” and “Magical Mystery Tour.” This all occurred in a three year period! And “Sgt. Pepper” was the gateway.

There were no singles from “Sgt. Pepper,” but many of its songs lifted off into their own iconic worlds. “With a Little Help from My Friends” took on its own life thanks to Joe Cocker. Elton John has a massive hit 7 years later with “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” “A Day in the Life” has gone to become the Beatles’ unofficial masterpiece (and listen to it, it gets better and deeper with every spin).

I have other favorite moments. Ringo’s drums on “Lovely Rita,” for one, and also what he does on “A Day in the Life” is sublime. The punk rock stylings of “Good Morning Good Morning” and the album closing refrain of the title track. “She’s Leaving Home,” which led to McCartney’s “Another Day.” The sing-a-longs of “Getting Better” and “When I’m Sixty Four.” (Vera, Chuck and Dave were made memorable names.)

Billy Shears lives on! “Sgt. Pepper” is our equivalent of Beethoven, Bach, or Mozart. Nothing has ever surpassed it. Happy birthday!

Sony’s Universe Saved by New Animated Spider Man Movie with Stunning $17 Mil Preview Night

Roger Friedman
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Sony’s Universe Saved by New Animated Spider Man Movie with Stunning $17 Mil Preview Night

Sony has been not having a great 2023 so far.

With ten movies released, several have been out and out disasters, like the George Foreman bio and the Celine Dion thing, “Love Again.”

Even “The Machine” has needed repairs since no one knew what it was and still may not, actually.

Their “hits” include “The Pope’s Exorcist.” which has made $72 million, and “65,” which hasn’t even made $65 million.

So back to the tried and true. On Thursday night. “Spider Man: Across the Spiderverse” clocked in previews with a stunning $17 million. I told you yesterday the writing — or Peter Parker– was on the wall. “Spider Man” in all forms is a guaranteed hit.

Producer Amy Pascal used to run the studio until they forced her out during the Wikileaks nightmare. So she took Spidey and went into production for herself. It’s the best thing that ever happened to anyone. The first “Spiderverse” movie made $3.5 million in previews. “Across” looks like it took in almost FIVE times that number.

Good weekend coming? I’d say so.

PS Rain and cold tomorrow, Saturday, perfect weather for a big movie day, especially for parents looking to park kids somewhere.

Review: The Really Marvelous “Mrs. Maisel” Finale Ties 5 Seasons Up with a Bow, Deserves Emmy Awards in Every Comedy Category

Roger Friedman
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Review: The Really Marvelous “Mrs. Maisel” Finale Ties 5 Seasons Up with a Bow, Deserves Emmy Awards in Every Comedy Category

Everyone’s talking about the series finales of “Succession” and “Ted Lasso.” But the real winner this spring is the end of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

All of this fifth season has been terrific and much more sharply focused than season 4. From beginning to end, this last nine episodes are good as the original season and, I think, deserve Emmys in every category.

I rewatched the finale tonight and several things come to mind.

First of all, I’m in awe of the how Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino set up the ending: Midge, after having Susie sort of blackmail the wife of talk show host Gordon Ford, is booked on the show. This gave the Palladinos a way to bring all the main characters to Ford’s studio to watch Midge eventually hijack the show and finally have her moment on a national stage. (The only one missing is the wonderful Kevin Pollak– Moishe Maisel — because he was already shooting another series.)

Everything leading up to Midge’s biggest moment is carefully orchestrated including a seriously great sequence of Abe and Rose trying to get a cab on Central Park West. This is where the Palladinos really shine, in set pieces like the Wonder Wheel opening of season 4, or all the burlesque shows they’ve put on. Brilliant.

Midge’s eventually grabbing of the microphone only works because Rachel Brosnahan summons all of her accumulated talent from the five seasons and is in a zone. Sometimes in the past Midge’s stand up routines were funny, sometimes they were like preachy monologues about being a single working mom. (Often they were more to communicate plot and theme to the audience.) But this last time, Brosnahan is legit hilarious, It’s the performance of a lifetime as Midge brings together everything she’s learned on her journey to fame. Brosnahan is perfection.

Of course, Alex Borstein’s Susie is a no brainer. Counting in the flash forwards we’ve seen all season, Susie’s arc is stunning. We finally learn about her actual personal life, her heart broken in college by Hedy — played by the formidable Nina Arianda. In the future scenes, especially at the Friars Club and later in the final scenes on the phone with Midge, Borstein details her own version of Sue Mengers and so many real life women who gave their lives to show biz.

Everyone else is at the top of their game. The Palladinos finally show their Lenny Bruce as he unraveled in real life. Up til now he’s been a charmer who’s dipped in and out of Midge’s life. (I liked him almost as a figment of her imagination and disagreed with decision to let Midge sleep with him.) Kirby was so popular that he turned up in five episodes of season 4– a spice used as a main ingredient — and the result was he didn’t get what should have been his Emmy (from the Carnegie Hall performance). This season he was cut back to 2 episodes, he’s back to being a Guest Star, and he absolutely should win. His last two bits — Lenny reading his legal problems to a small audience — is poignant and spot on.

The large supporting cast is also top notch. Tony Shalhoub, Maren Hinkle (a true MVP), Kevin Pollak, and Caroline Aaron as the Weissmans and Maisels just devour their moments. (They are more like the blissfully oblivious characters from “You Can’t Take It With You.’) Shalhoub’s realization that Midge has been brave — which he reveals to dinner companions — is Shalhoub’s crowning accomplishment. Caroline Aaron’s Mrs. Maisel cannot be overlooked anymore– and “Shirl” will not let us look away. This thing she does is magic, but she makes it look easy.

So you’ve got Best Comedy, Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress, Guest Star, not to mention writing, directing, and production design. Saying goodbye to “Mrs. Maisel” isn’t easy. Each episode has been like late 1950s dessert– a Baked Alaska, a chocolate mousse — from the best kitchen that never existed. The Palladinos have plenty of treats– Susie’s magician client just appears out of nowhere at the end, for example. There’s a mini plot line about Abe finding granddaughter Esther is the “grandson I never had.” And so on. I will really miss them all, especially Midge’s sister-in-law Astrid (the great Justine Lupe, Willa from “Succession”) and all the other minor characters who stole scenes and hearts.

Bravo!

Kanye West School Daze as Another Teacher Joins Lawsuit Against Disgraced Rapper and His Donda Academy

Roger Friedman
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Kanye West School Daze as Another Teacher Joins Lawsuit Against Disgraced Rapper and His Donda Academy

You may recall Kanye West. The self-avowed anti-semite has pretty much lost all his businesses after being exposed last year by offending everyone, especially Jews.

West still has a private school called the Donda Academy. You may recall a lawsuit filed in early April by former teachers. It revealed a litany of issues including no nurse, no janitor, no forks or spoons, only sushi for lunch, and so on.

Now a third teacher from Donda has joined the suit.

Here’s the press release:

A third former teacher at Kanye West’s secretive Southern California private Christian school has joined a lawsuit against the Grammy Award-winning artist, who legally changed his name to Ye, in a complaint containing shocking allegations of health, safety and education code violations, illegal retaliatory conduct and racial discrimination. 

The initial lawsuit was filed on April 6 in Los Angeles County Superior Court by plaintiffs Cecilia Hailey and her daughter Chekarey Byers who allege they were fired from Ye’s Donda Academy in March 2023 in retaliation for reporting code violations, that they were discriminated against based on their race and illegally had wages withheld or were repeatedly improperly paid. Hailey was hired in 2022 and Byers in January 2023. 

An amended complaint was filed Thursday adding former Donda Academy teacher Timanii Meeks who alleges she was fired about six months earlier in retaliation for reporting some of the exact same concerns including exposed and dangerous electrical wiring, and bullying and assaults on campus. 

“Clearly, Ye has a big problem on his hands with this school, and the addition of Ms. Meeks to the complaint only serves to reinforce the nightmarish conditions for staff and students at Donda Academy,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Ron Zambrano, a partner and Employment Litigation Chair at West Coast Employment Lawyers. “Ms. Meeks was fired months before Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers were terminated but all three clearly witnessed the same illegal and disturbing code violations and conduct at the school, and all three were given the same retaliatory and unlawful treatment merely for trying to stand up for the students’ rights to a meaningful education. Donda and Ye now have an established pattern of retaliation, from two independent sources, to contend with.”

“Plaintiff Meeks is informed and believes that the building was not safe for occupants, let alone children,” according to the amended complaint.

Meeks was hired through an agency in August 2022 as a substitute teacher. She says that soon after, plans were in motion to give her a full-time teaching position in the theater department.

From the start of her employment, Meeks says she lodged numerous complaints to the principal, vice principal and director Brianne Cambell about student safety and building hazards, according to the lawsuit. 

“Instead of addressing her complaints, Plaintiff MEEKS was simply told, ‘It’s a work in progress,’ and ‘We’re working on the kinks,’” the lawsuit states.

In early October 2022, Meeks alleges, several parents sat in on one of her math classes, and subsequently complained about the conditions. Meeks took the complaints to Cambell. 

“Specifically, they complained that there were no books, textbooks, or any sort of educational items that would typically be found in a classroom. Students were eventually given workbooks and printouts of online worksheets,” the lawsuit states. “In response to parents voicing their concerns, Defendant BRIANNE CAMBELL reprimanded Plaintiff MEEKS.”

Just days later on Oct. 12, 2022, Meeks was informed by her agency – Teachers on Reserve – that the school had terminated her. No reason was provided.

“Plaintiff MEEKS is informed and believes that, prior to her termination, her contract had been extended, and she was supposed to work until at least the end of the year,” according to the complaint.

The initial complaint filed by Hailey and Byers also contains peculiar — and in some instances illegal — rules in place at the school Ye opened in 2021 named after his late mother initially in Simi Valley before moving it to nearby Chatsworth. He now serves as the Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Chief Financial Officer and is named as a defendant in the complaint along with the school and three of its directors.  

The lawsuit alleges, among other things, teachers not being trained to provide basic life support, that doors were locked from the outside, students had no access to forks or utensils or even chairs to sit on, and unsecured and expired medications were improperly stored while there were no cleaning services or school nurse. And one meal a day was served – sushi – which students had to eat sitting on the floor. 

A lack of security and bullying also were reported.

“In one incident, a student assaulted an eighth grade student by slapping her, then attempted to assault another teacher. The student had multiple accounts of bullying, both physically and verbally, that had gone without discipline,” according to the complaint. 

Shortly after taking the job, according to the lawsuit, Byers began reporting the numerous health and safety violations and unlawful educational practices but, again, like Meeks, nothing was done.

Instead, according to the complaint, Byers and Hailey were met with pushback and called “aggressive,” behavior the plaintiffs believed “facilitates stereotypes about African American women as being confrontational simply for doing their job and voicing their legitimate concerns in order to provide a safe environment and proper education for their students.”

Meanwhile, the complaint states, West had other unusual rules, including not allowing artwork to be hung on walls, not allowing kids on the second floor because “he was reportedly afraid of stairs,” and forbidding jewelry.

In addition to being “terminated in retaliation for their complaints about defendants’ unlawful and unsafe educational practices,” as well as racial discrimination, Hailey and Byers allege that their paychecks were “untimely or inaccurate” with Byers never receiving her first check and ensuing checks often being short up to $2,700, in violation of state and local labor laws.

The lawsuit aims to hold West and the school liable for the retaliatory wrongful termination and discrimination and each of the named individual defendants for unpaid wages. 

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