Kanye West won’t have at least one assault case to worry about anymore. According to a report today, the Yeezus rapper forked over $250,000 to an 18-year-old he punched out in a chiropractor’s office earlier this month.
Kanye West became enraged when the teen bombarded Kim Kardashian, West’s fiancé, with racial and sexual epithets as she was attempting to enter an office building in Beverly Hills. While accounts of the incident have varied in their details, it appears that the teen — whose name has still not been made public — first attempted to help the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star make her way into the building around a clamoring throng of paparazzi.
But when Kim Kardashian scolded him for using racist and anti-gay insults against the photographers, the youth exploded at her as well, saying, “F*** you, b****! Just trying to help you. Shut up n***** lover, stupid slut.”
When Kim Kardashian reached Kanye West on the phone, the 18-year-old shouted the N-word at him as well. The 36-year-old rap star rushed to the scene and tracked the 18-year-old to the chiropractor’s office , where the assault reportedly took place.
Beverly Hills police earlier identified Kanye West as a “suspect” in the assault but no charges had yet been filed.
According to the celebrity news site TMZ , it now seems doubtful that they will be. West’s representatives have been negotiating with the teen and it now appears a cash deal has been struck. Kanye West agrees to pay the youth $250,000 and in turn, the victim agrees not to follow-through with the case.
The settlement may seem like a high price — though reportedly the teen originally asked for a payout in the millions — but Kanye West is reported by the Celebrity Net Worth web site to possess a personal fortune in the range of $100 million , so the payoff won’t cause him any significant financial damage.
According to the Daily Mail report of the settlement, Kim Kardashian remains “proud” of her betrothed’s actions in response to the young man’s verbal attack against her.
“Kim loves that her man is protecting her,” the paper quoted an “insider” close to the celebrity coulple as saying. “Unlike [her ex-husband] Kris Humphries, whom she never felt had her back, Kim is telling people that Kanye is a real man.”
Kim Kardashian married Kris Humphries , a professional basketball player now with the Boston Celtics, on August 20, 2011 but the marriage lasted only 72 days.
Despite the settlement, police still could go ahead with a case against Kanye West. But with a witness who has now been paid to keep quiet, it appears unlikely that they’ll bother to do so.
But Kanye West still has another assault charge pending , from a incident in which he allegedly attacked a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport last summer.