Bianca Censori has reportedly been summoned to testify in an ongoing lawsuit involving her husband, Kanye West, over the dramatic renovation of his Malibu mansion. According to court documents cited by TMZ, contractor Tony Saxon has requested that the 31-year-old Australian architect and model be called to testify in the labour-related case, which was first filed in 2023, a new wrinkle that could pull Censori further into the legal battle.
© Backgrid/The Grosby GroupIt is not yet clear what specific testimony Saxon believes she can provide. However, a 2024 report by The New Yorker indicated that Censori had at one point acted as an intermediary in discussions about the property, which helps explain why her name is now appearing in court filings.
The dispute centres on an oceanfront mansion in Malibu that West purchased in 2021 for more than $57 million, a home that has become almost as headline-making as the artist himself. Saxon claims he was hired in September of that year to oversee extensive renovations and to serve in multiple roles, including project manager, caretaker and security, and he alleges in legal filings that he worked up to 16 hours a day and sometimes slept on the ground in a coat to stay on schedule, painting a picture of a project that quickly spiralled into the extreme.
He claims the situation deteriorated two months later, after he raised safety concerns about West’s requests, which allegedly included demolishing marble bathrooms, removing plumbing, windows, and electrical systems, and bringing large generators into the house. Saxon has said the 48-year-old rapper, who now goes by Ye, wanted the home to resemble “a bomb shelter from the 1910s,” describing it as a “Bat Cave” concept where he could “hide from the Clintons and the Kardashians”. He also alleged that West wanted no electricity, preferring candles, plants and battery-powered lighting, details that have only added to the surreal tone of the dispute.
According to the lawsuit, when Saxon objected to certain safety changes, he was fired and told to leave the property. He claims he was paid for only one week of work and is now seeking more than $1 million in unpaid wages and damages for alleged labor code violations, a figure that underscores just how high-stakes this has become.
© Jun SatoWest has denied the accusations, and in a November 2023 filing, his legal team requested that the case be dismissed, arguing that he was not responsible for the damages claimed and that Saxon undertook tasks without proper authorisation, setting up the kind of he-said-he-said court fight that can drag on for months.
Images published in 2024 showed the mansion in visible disrepair, with removed windows exposing the interior to ocean air and elements. Neighbours later told TMZ the property appeared to have been “left to rot,” a striking detail given the home’s eye-watering price tag.
Censori, who married the rapper in 2022, has not publicly commented on the lawsuit. The case is scheduled to return to court later this month, meaning the next chapter could arrive sooner rather than later.
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