Facts: Donda Academy
After the storm of criticism against West’s anti-Semitic statements, the school was closed for a period, but it is now accepting applications for 2023-2024.
According to the school’s website, the aim is to “prepare students to become the next generation of leaders” and to “develop their faith”.
The school is named after Kanye West’s mother Donda, who died in 2007.
The fee for the school has been just over $15,000, equivalent to around SEK 155,000, per year, but the website announces that “everyone is welcome to apply regardless of financial situation as financial aid and scholarships are available”.
Two former teachers at Donda Academy claim they were fired without explanation and without pay after reporting abuse at the Christian school Kanye West, or Ye as he now calls himself, started in Simi Valley, California last September the year.
“This is not about trying to defame a celebrity. This is the right thing to do for these children,” Cecila Hailey writes in the lawsuit, according to Billboard.
Her daughter Chekarey Byers – who was also a teacher at the school – claims in the lawsuit that “his vision for the school sounds good on paper, but it’s pure chaos and mutiny”.
According to Hailey and Byers, a large number of arbitrary rules prevailed. The lawsuit claims that the only food available to the students was sushi – and they were not allowed to bring their own food. There was also a ban on, among other things, crosswords, cutlery and colorful clothes. Several books dealing with black history were also banned.
The children were also not allowed to go out at recess and, according to Hailey and Byers, the adults turned a blind eye to bullying and abuse among the students.
Representatives for Donda Academy have not yet responded to US media seeking comment.