A model who worked with Kanye West has told the BBC she felt ‘suffocated and scared’ after an incident she says left her fearing for her safety. The woman, who asked not to be named, described a tense atmosphere during a fitting session at the rapper’s Los Angeles studio. She claimed West placed his hands on her neck in a ‘playful but forceful’ manner, leaving her struggling to breathe.
‘I froze. I didn’t know what to do. I thought if I reacted badly, I might lose the job or worse,’ she said.
West’s representatives have denied the allegation, calling it ‘completely fabricated’. But for the model, the impact on her mental health has been severe. ‘I have nightmares.
I can’t trust being alone in a room with powerful men anymore.’ The BBC understands that other models have come forward with similar concerns about West’s behaviour. This story comes as part of a wider reckoning over power imbalances in the fashion industry, where young women on zero-hours contracts often feel unable to speak out.
West has not faced formal charges, but the model hopes her testimony will encourage others to come forward. ‘We need to protect the vulnerable, not the powerful.
