Rapper Kanye West has filed a $10m (£7.55m) lawsuit against insurance firm Lloyd’s of London, alleging that the company is withholding payments in the wake of a tour that West infamously cancelled in November 2016 – and that Lloyd’s are claiming West’s “use of marijuana” is a factor in the stalled payment.
West drew headlines during the Saint Pablo tour, particularly after he voiced support for Donald Trump on stage in San Jose. After another bizarre concert in Sacramento, where he made a rambling speech castigating Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Mark Zuckerberg and Hillary Clinton, he left the stage after three songs, and then cancelled the final 21 concerts of his tour, refunding ticketholders. He was hospitalised for “exhaustion”, spending eight days at a psychiatric centre in Los Angeles.
In the lawsuit, West’s touring company Very Good Touring writes that they haven’t been given “any indication if they will ever pay or even make a coverage decision, implying that West’s use of marijuana may provide them with a basis to deny the claim and retain the hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums paid by Very Good.” His lawyer Howard King said that the marijuana accusation was an “unsupportable contention”.
The lawsuit also alleges that Lloyd’s fed confidential information about West to news outlets, and states that the insurers’ own selected doctor asserted that West’s mental condition was “disabling” enough to prevent him from continuing the tour.
A spokesperson for Lloyd’s of London said the company wouldn’t comment on active cases.
credit:theguardian.com