Movies of War

Mar 11, 2026 11:49am PT Kanye West Found Liable in Malibu Mansion Renovation Trial, but Jury Awards Plaintiff Only a Fraction of Damages Demanded By Chris Willman Plus Icon Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic ChrisWillman Latest Kacey Musgraves Announces Sixth Album, ‘Middle of Nowhere’; Witty and Racy ‘Dry Spell’ Video Out Now 3 hours ago Noah Kahan Defends Chappell Roan’s Right to Be Left Alone: ‘Eat F—ing Nails,’ He Tells ‘Scummy’ Professional Autograph ‘Scalpers’ 1 day ago Jane Fonda to Salute Robert Redford as TCM Classic Film Festival Kicks Off With ‘Barefoot in the Park’ Gala Screening 1 day ago See All Getty Images for The Recording Academy Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, lost a case brought by a project manager for his former Malibu mansion in a verdict announced Wednesday. But things did not go entirely the plaintiff’s way, as Tony Saxon, who brought the suit, was awarded only $140,000, plus lawyers’ fees and court costs, with no additional punitive damages. Saxon’s attorney had asked the jury gathered in Los Angeles Superior Court to award his client $1.7 million in compensatory damages. The amount Ye will owe will add up considerably beyond the $140,000 cited once attorneys’ fees are tacked on; the extra amount he will owe was not immediately disclosed. Related Stories Winona Ryder Joins 'Wednesday' Season 3, Reuniting With Jenna Ortega and Tim Burton Warner Bros. Discovery Likely to Take New Paramount Skydance Offer Under Review While Still Recommending Netflix Pact to Shareholders The trial, which began Feb. 23, reached a climax at the end of last week when both Ye and his wife, Bianca Censori, took the stand, although defense attorneys did not elicit much information from either of them. Ye, in particular, answered “I don’t recall” to most questions and appeared to observers to be sleepy and possibly even dozing off on the stand. Popular on Variety In Monday’s closing arguments, Ye’s attorney, Andrew Cherlaskey, refuted reportage that his client had fallen asleep during his testimony. “He answered the questions,” Cherlaskey told the jury, according to Rolling Stone. “He wasn’t sleeping. He was bored. This is beneath him.” Saxon had claimed in the lawsuit that Ye promised him $20,000 per week for the job, but ultimately only gave him one of those payments, plus $100,000 for construction costs. Saxon claimed he was severely injured on the job in his back and neck, which Ye’s attorneys attempted to refute by showing video of Saxon singing with a band at a club and rolling on the floor in what they characterized as a vigorous performance. The most bizarre parts of the testimony involved Saxon reiterating that Ye had wanted to essentially gut the beach house, an architectural landmark designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando, and eliminate stairs as well as outside electricity and plumbing in an attempt to take it off the grid. The closest Ye’s camp came to acknowledging that part of Saxon’s account came when Censori said in testimony that her husband had wanted to remove just one stairwell and put a slide in its place. Saxon also testified that he had been forced to become a round-the-clock security guard as well as project manager as the mansion was taken apart, with Ye allegedly telling him, “Stay here now. You can’t leave.” Saxon recalled how much contact he had with Ye, including having the hip-hop mogul pick him up when his car ran out of gas. Ye claimed on the stand that he did not remember any of these encounters or conversations, though he did finally assent when the attorney asked him if it was true that he complained about Saxon’s smell. Ye has recently been considered to be “canceled” in many show-biz and business circles for his antisemitic comments, for which he recently took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to apologize. Some entertainment companies appear ready to forgive or at least forget the antisemitism, as SoFi Stadium announced this week that Ye will be headlining an appearance there on April 3. Ye also has his oft-delayed “Bully” album set for release later this month through an independent label. Jump to Comments Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Sombr Ramp Up for Grammy Awards With Performances at Spotify’s Best New Artist Party Spotify Says More Than 1,500 Artists Earned Over $1 Million in Royalties Last Year Music Industry Moves: Range Sports Acquires Bonnaroo Founders Superfly; Olivia Dean Producer Zach Nahome Signs With Universal Publishing and NWS Spotify Paid Out a Record $11 Billion to the Music Industry in 2025 Spotify Adds Record Monthly Users and Hits 290 Million Paid Subscribers in Q4, New Co-CEO Says 2026 Will Be ‘Year of Raising Ambition’ Spotify Is Raising U.S. Subscription Prices in the Next Month JavaScript is required to load the comments. Loading comments...