Kanye West went off on a lawyer while having his face covered in newly released footage from his deposition in a 2020 lawsuit by a tech firm.
In a sneak peek of A&E’s “Interrogation Raw: Celebrity Under Oath,” the “All of the Lights” rapper jumped into a Zoom call, instantly avoiding eye contact with the attorney trying to get him to answer questions. Lawyer Michael Popok asked West, who was blocking his eyes with the brim of his black hat, if he was checking his phone, to which the Grammy winner casually responded, “Yes.”
Popok reminded West, 47, not to be on his phone “during the exam,” but the father of four pushed back. Popok laid down the law, explaining that his “ground rule” for depositions was to keep cellphones out of the picture so the person being questioned could stay “present and focused” on the process.
Kanye West’s bizarre deposition for a tech lawsuit is making headlines. In footage set to air on A&E, Ye butts heads with his lawyer, refuses to show his face, and calls questions “stupid.” The rapper even claims he needs his phone to focus due to his “mental geniusness.”
— Chasethatclout (@chasethatclout) December 18, 2024pic.twitter.com/MsdE5l7Koj
After Popok told West’s attorney to have a word with him, the “Donda” artist oddly took off his hat and threw on a full face mask. When the lawyer asked why he was wearing the mask, West replied in a way that left everyone confused, saying, “Because you don’t have the right to see my face.”
He also went on to remind the lawyer that he was speaking to “the richest black man in the history of America.”
The Chicago legend also made it clear he planned to keep it on for the whole deposition.