Kanye West ‘Wanted No Toilets’ Inside His Gutted Malibu Beach House, Worker Claims—as He Sues Rapper Over ‘Off-the-Grid’ Bunker Project

Rapper Kanye West allegedly demanded that all of the toilets inside his former Malibu beach house be removed as part of his controversial overhaul of the architecturally significant property, which saw it reduced to little more than a concrete shell.

West, 48, purchased the Tadao Ando-designed beach dwelling for the staggering price of $57.3 million in September 2021, before hiring a rare-record dealer named Tony Saxon—who is not a licensed contractor—to carry out a gut renovation of the home.

Within months, almost all of the fixtures inside the property had been torn out, including the windows and all interior finishes, as well as the electric and plumbing, a move that sparked outrage among architecture buffs, who slammed West for destroying such a significant property.

West further fueled that outrage in January 2024, when he put the gutted dwelling on the market for $53 million, having seemingly abandoned his plans to turn the home into a kind of modernist bunker—but not before Saxon filed a 2023 lawsuit against him, alleging that he sustained several injuries while working on the home, including a broken neck.

That suit is now being heard in court, where a lawyer for Saxon aired a very bizarre allegation about West's unusual demands for the property—namely that all of its toilets be ripped out.

"He wanted no toilets," attorney Ron Zambrano stated, according to Rolling Stone, adding: "If people had to go No. 2, it was a hole in the ground."

Zambrano added that West had told his client—who claims he is owed around $1 million in unpaid wages and expenses for the project—he wanted to turn the property into an "off-the-grid shelter."

Saxon, who is seeking more than $1 million in damages, further alleges that the rapper required him to live at the house while it was being gutted and that he was asked to complete the work without the necessary permits.

However, West's lawyer, Andrew Cherkasky, fired back at Saxon's claims—while accusing him of lying to the rapper about having a license when he did not. Furthermore, Cherkasky insists that Saxon was never in West's employ, but was treated as a contractor.

"It was what every remodeler or construction worker does—bring your own tools, your own guys," he said, adding that West's only goal with the transformation of the home was to turn it into a unique residence for his family.

As for Saxon's claims about being told to sleep in the bare concrete dwelling, Cherkasky insisted that the worker had done so of his own accord.

Speaking to reporters outside of the courtroom, West's spokesperson, Milo Yiannopoulos, accused Saxon of repeatedly lying about the money that he is owed, saying: "The truth is that Tony was overpaid and underqualified and should have quit while he was ahead.

"He should have taken the quarter of a million dollars he was paid for six weeks’ work and run. For a while, he did for two years, in fact, until a law firm got involved. And now we are here trying to figure out if anything that Tony Saxon has ever said is true."

While West was not present in court on the first day of the trial, he is expected to be called as a witness during the course of the hearing, which is expected to last around two weeks. His wife, Bianca Censori, is also expected to testify.

The trial is just the latest in a long line of controversies to blight the once-revered abode, which is currently owned by developer Steven "Bo" Belmont, CEO of "real estate crowdfunding firm" Belwood Investments.

Belmont purchased the home from West for $21 million in September 2021 and had initially intended to return it to its former glory.

However, the developer threw a Ye-style curve ball of his own in 2025, when he opted to list the partially-completed home for $39 million, eventually reducing that price to $34.9 million.

He then pivoted yet again by teaming up with Populis, a "private, invite-only membership" program that offers its members the opportunity to invest in "architecturally-significant real estate programs," starting with West's former property.

Yet that partnership does not appear to have lasted very long, with the listing for the West property now unavailable to view on the Populis website, which now consists only of a sign-up page, with a promise that more information is "coming soon."

Meanwhile, Belmont is facing potential foreclosure on the West property, having been served with a notice of default in November 2025, when his his lender, Quality Loan Service Corp, accused his company, Belwood Investments, of falling behind on mortgage payments. As of Nov. 4, 2025, Quality Loan Service claimed that the developer owed $814,623.54.

In the default notice, Belmont was warned that he risked losing the home if he failed to catch up on payments within 90 days. It is unclear whether he has taken any action to prevent foreclosure since the notice was served.

West originally purchased the beach house just months after he split from his former wife, Kim Kardashian—and it was suggested by some of the rapper's critics that he had chosen to gut the property in order to jab at his ex-partner, who is known to be an avid fan of Ando's work.

The rapper's overhaul of the dwelling saw it reduced to little more than a concrete shell, decimating almost all of Ando's original design—and leaving design lovers up in arms over its destruction.

He then sparked further fury when he abandoned his plans for the waterfront abode altogether and put it back on the market in January 2024 with an asking price of $53 million, enlisting celebrity real estate agent Jason Oppenheim to help him offload the bare bones of the home.

When it was put on the market, the home had no electric, no plumbing, no windows, and no interior finishes, all of which had been stripped out during West's "renovations."

So it came as no surprise that West was unable to secure anything close to his original asking price, ultimately accepting an offer of just $21 million from Belmont—who owned the home for just a matter of months before trying to find a buyer.

While it is unclear what state the property is currently in, listing images recently uploaded to the MLS revealed the true extent of West's updates—laying bare the bare concrete shell that was left when the rapper decided to get rid of the home.

The beach house had been stripped of all amenities, including plumbing, gas, and electric, and was also left without any windows.