A former assistant to Kanye West who sued the artist has gone into hiding, her attorney told Mediaite in a new interview.
Lauren Pisciotta, who worked for West between 2021 and 2022, filed a suit last year accusing him of sexual harassment, sex discrimination, sexual battery, and wrongful termination. West has denied the claims.
Her attorney, Arick Fudali, told Mediaite in an exclusive interview that online attacks from both West and his fans have forced his client to go into hiding.
“Lauren has really suffered since filing the lawsuit both based on what she experienced, what she alleges she experienced, but also the backlash she has experienced publicly from both Mr. West and his fans,” Fudali said. “Certainly Mr. West did a lot more on X, and social media than criticize my client. He’s mocked my client.”
He continued: “People like Mr. West has the notoriety and the resources to ridicule and attack the client. It’s from the playbook of powerful people.”
The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last June and amended in October to add new claims, alleged that West drugged and sexually assaulted Pisciotta while she served as his assistant. She also alleged that he asked her to sexually service his friends, masturbated on the phone with her, as well as in front of her during a flight to Paris, and repeatedly sent her sexually graphic text messages.
Pisciotta, who was paid an annual salary of $1 million for the job, alleges she was
In February, West spoke out about her allegations in a series of expletive-laden posts on X, formerly Twitter, in which he suggested they were an extortion attempt.
“FOR ANYONE WHO WVER WANTS TO TRY TO EXTORT ME YOU WILL [RUN] OUT OF MONEY BEFORE I DO,” West wrote.
The posts appear to have since been deleted.
Of West’s posts on X, Fudali said: “We see all these things Mr. West does in public and I think we can all imagine what Mr. West is willing to do in private.”
Fudali said Pisciotta decided to file the lawsuit in order for there to be “justice and accountability” and praised his client for coming forward with her allegations publicly.
“It was very brave for my client, Miss Pisciotta, to file this lawsuit,” he said. “First of all, to do it with her real name as you know alleged victims of these types of allegations are often afforded the opportunity to file anonymously as a ‘Jane Doe’ and many do that as a way to stay out of the spotlight and to prevent, and to prohibit the backlash that many people get when they make these types of claims against someone like Mr. West. Her decision has not been without backlash, as I speak right now she is in hiding.”
“She is hiding right now,” he said. “She is so afraid of what might happen based
“She is certainly ready and willing to go to trial, and to tell her story and have her day in court, and to get the justice and accountability she deserves” Fudali said. “We are preparing to have a jury trial in front of her and Mr. West’s peers in Los Angeles and to get a verdict in favor of Miss Pisciotta.”
He added: “I look forward to the opportunity to take Mr. West’s deposition and confront him with these allegations, and see how he responds under oath.”
West’s legal counsel did not respond to a request for comment.