Embattled rapper Kanye West is reportedly facing more potential legal strife — this time in connection with an alleged battery incident in Los Angeles.
The “Vultures” musician — who now goes by Ye — is reportedly suspected by L.A. police of allegedly punching a man who allegedly grabbed his wife, Bianca Censori, TMZ reported Wednesday. Sources told the website that Ye, 46, and Censori, 29, left the scene of the alleged altercation and that the rapper’s alleged victim did not need treatment for injuries.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said that officers responded to the 8200 block of Sunset Boulevard at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday for a “battery investigation” and a report has since been completed. The spokesperson did not confirm the suspect’s identity to The Times on Thursday.
A representative for Ye told The Times on Friday that the rapper was not a suspect in any battery case and denied that an official police report had been filed. “Police aren’t even investigating,” she said in an email.
Video shared by Fox 11 reporter Matthew Seedorff on Wednesday shows detectives leaving the iconic Chateau Marmont on Sunset . Boulevard, where West reportedly has been staying in recent months.
A representative for the rapper disputed initial reports that Censori had been “grabbed” by the other man as “grossly inadequate as a description of what happened.”
“Bianca was physically assaulted. The assailant didn’t merely collide into her,” the rep said in a statement to TMZ. “He put his hands under her dress, directly on her body, he grabbed her waist, he spun her around, and then he blew her kisses. She was battered and sexually assaulted.”
The investigation comes weeks after Ye — who quickly fell out of public favor in late 2022 amid his antisemitic rants — was sued by a former employee of his Donda Academy. The rapper, his Yeezy brand and the Los Angeles-area school face allegations of discrimination, a hostile work environment, whistleblower retaliation and unsafe working conditions and more.
The accuser, Trevor Phillips, is seeking damages in excess of $35,000, according to the complaint.
Times staff writer August Brown contributed to this report.
