Kanye West is accused in a lawsuit of failing to pay security guards for the doomed Malibu construction project

Kanye West is facing a lawsuit from a security guard named Jonathan Monroe, who says the rapper never paid him for the hours he worked for him – and fired him when he asked for pay.

In legal documents reviewed by TMZ on Tuesday, Monroe said West, 47, told him in August 2021 that he would pay him $30 an hour to provide security at a home in Malibu, California which he tried unsuccessfully to renovate.

Monroe said in legal documents that he worked between 36 and 50 hours a week for the Grammy-winning artist, whose career has stalled since fall 2022 amid a spate of anti-Semitic comments.

Monroe told the court that he was never paid a dime for his work and time and that he was fired in October 2021 after complaining about the lack of pay.

Monroe is suing West for unpaid wages, interest on the sum and punitive damages in the lawsuit, which comes three years after the short-lived appearance.

Monroe said West told him in August 2021 that he would pay him $30 an hour to provide security at a home in Malibu, California, that he tried unsuccessfully to renovate

In July, West finally sold his Malibu mansion after lowering the asking price by a whopping $14 million.

The final price the mansion was sold for was estimated at around $21 million, TMZ reported.

The Heartless rapper initially purchased the home in 2021, which was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. Photos released in June showed the beach house was completely gutted without windows.

Online records obtained by TMZ show West's mansion was placed in escrow in July. The property – which has four bedrooms and five bathrooms – was originally listed for $53 million, but in April this year the music artist slashed the asking price astronomically to $39 million.

West began construction on the 4,000-square-foot home, which borders the Pacific Ocean, but was unable to complete it.

One of the workers hired to help gut the home told the New Yorker in June that West wanted to build a “bomb shelter” and his “Batcave.”

Kulapat Yantrasat – an architect – also told the publication: “To be honest, he didn't like the house – he didn't like the interior design.”

Originally, the back part of the mansion, which has no water or electricity, was painted white and featured floor-to-ceiling windows on each floor.

West, who appeared in Milan in February, is being sued for unpaid wages, interest on the sum and punitive damages in the lawsuit, which comes three years after the short-lived appearance

According to online records obtained by TMZ, West's mansion was placed in escrow last summer

Photos taken in July showed the glass windows had been removed, revealing empty concrete walls and floors

The Grammy-winning artist notably enlisted real estate agent Jason Oppenheim of Selling Sunset fame to sell the home late last year, TMZ reported back in April

Photos taken in July showed the glass windows had been removed, revealing empty concrete walls and floors.

Especially West brought As TMZ reported back in April, he sold Sunset realtor Jason Oppenheim on his attempt to sell the home late last year.

Oppenheim told the outlet that he was optimistic about the distressed property's upscale sales prospects, comparing the property to “basically a blank canvas” for potential buyers.

The Carnival artist, who bought the home for $57 million in late 2021, was previously unable to convert it into a “bomb shelter” after bringing famed Japanese architect Ando into the remodeling process.

Monroe's lawsuit is the latest in a series of problems surrounding West's ill-fated home project in the upscale Southern California beach town.

West has also been sued by the redevelopment project's former manager, Tony Saxon, who claims he was fired after raising “concerns about the extreme danger” of the project.

In September 2023, sources told TMZ that West wanted to remove the windows and electricity from the home to turn it into “a 1910s bomb shelter.”

In Saxon's lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, he said he was hired for the project in September 2021 and worked 16 hours a day at the beach house.

In September 2023, sources told TMZ that West wanted to remove the windows and electricity from the home to turn it into “a 1910s bomb shelter.”

He claimed he slept on the floor of the house as he worked as a “project manager, caretaker and 24-hour security guard” for the property.

Saxon claimed West only paid him for a week's work and ignored all of his concerns until he was finally fired in November 2021 after he refused to remove the home's windows and electricity.

In the lawsuit, Saxon said the rapper's vision for the home was to build something like “a 1910s bomb shelter” and demolish the marble bathrooms and remove the windows, plumbing and electricity, according to NBC News.

He also reportedly wanted to replace the stairs with slides.

Saxon reportedly sued West for a number of labor law violations, more than $1 million in unpaid wages and damages.

“We wanted to eradicate all of that and kind of build him a bat cave,” Saxon explained, adding that the rapper wanted a place where he could “hide from the Clintons and the Kardashians.”

While Saxon believed the house was more of an “art project,” he later realized that West actually wanted to live in it.

He said West “didn't want electricity.” He just wanted plants. He just wanted candles. He just wanted battery lights. And he just wanted everything to be open and dark.'