Former Yeezy employee Trevor Phillips, who accused Kanye West of child abuse in a new lawsuit, still allows his daughter to participate in Donda Academy’s choir, Page Six has exclusively learned.
Multiple sources confirmed to Page Six that Makayla Myles-Phillips is part of the Donda Choir and that her father has allegedly made “no attempts” to remove her from the music program.
We’re told the young girl has been a member of the choir since January, and has really thrived both as a singer and in her own personal growth.
“She’s an elite singer. She just did a performance and she actually had a solo,” a source, who has worked with the choir, tells Page Six exclusively of Makayla.
“Her mom never heard her sing by herself before her solo. The program just boosted her confidence.”
A second source adds of the young girl, “She is an amazing singer and rarely misses a rehearsal.”
Page Six has reviewed copies of attendance sheets that show she has been present the past few months.
Both insiders claim that Trevor has never been seen at any of his daughter’s performances or practices.
However, the former Yeezy staffer — who said in his suit that he was hired to oversee projects related to growing cotton for the company’s clothing lines — alleged in his complaint that he witnessed horrifying behavior from West, 46, during his tenure with the billionaire rapper.
Trevor accused West of going on antisemitic rants, flaunting pictures of a naked woman, simulating masturbation in front of him and allegedly treating black workers differently than their white counterparts.
However, some of the most scathing allegations Trevor made were pertaining to children.
He claimed in the complaint, obtained by Page Six, that West once “vulgarly insulted and disparaged” Makayla, allegedly telling him “F–k your daughter” during a dispute.
Trevor also alleged West once told two children that he “wanted to shave their heads,” intended to “put a jail at the school” and threatened to “lock them in cages.”
The staffer who has worked with the Donda Academy’s choir tells Page Six exclusively that they find Trevor’s allegations to be “just outrageous,” claiming what they’ve witnessed is completely different.
“It bothers me, honestly, because Ye is a generous guy,” the source says. “One thing that everyone knows is that the kids, the school and everything in regards to Donda is [West’s] life, his source of light.”
In response to the claims about West wanting to shave students’ hair, the insider points out, “The kids’ hair is part of their personality, part of their character.
“Everyone in the program has different types of hair. Some have braids, some have dread hair, and that’s something that was just outrageous to say.”
The worker also claims that West would never threaten to lock a child in a cage because the “Runaway” rapper wants “the kids to be free, which is obviously the total opposite.”
“We’re using his mom’s legacy. It’s Ms. Donda, and so he wanted nothing but a family aspect. … They look at each other as sisters, brothers and you really get that feel even when they walk into the room. They eat together. Everything they have to just do together.”
The source concludes, “It’s just a big family aspect, and I think that’s what [Ye] wanted — especially under his mom’s name.”
Our insiders also claim that Makayla’s mom has a very different viewpoint than Trevor and she has been very supportive of her daughter’s endeavors at the Donda Choir.
“She is such a different girl when she lives with her dad,” the choir staffer claims.
“When she transferred over to her mom, she was just a beam of light. She was such a lighter girl, happy and smiley.”
Per our source, students told them that Makayla had confided in them about not liking spending time with her dad and that she allegedly did not like her last name “Phillips,” either.
“I’ve gotten that from the other little girls that are around her and that care about her,” the source claims.
We’re told Makayla and her mother’s side of the family found out about Trevor’s lawsuit at the same time as everyone else earlier this month.
A source tells us that Makayla and her sister from her mother’s side, who also participates in the choir, were upset and “embarrassed,” noting that their mom wasn’t sure how to move forward.
We’re told Makayla did not show up for rehearsal last Saturday, which a source says is “kind of unfortunate,” adding, “I’m not sure [if she’s coming back].”
Page Six has reached out to Trevor’s reps for a response to our insiders’ accounts but did not immediately hear back.
The former Yeezy worker is not the only ex-staffer to have accused West of misconduct via lawsuits.
In April 2023, former Donda Academy teachers Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers claimed they were the only black women hired to work at the school and had experienced discrimination.
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Timanii Meeks then joined the lawsuit that June, suing for wrongful termination, and Isaiah Meadows filed his lawsuit against Donda Academy in July 2023 for breach of contract and other claims.
Donda Academy has gone through many transformations since it first opened its doors in 2002.
The Christian school for pre-kindergarteners through 12th-graders very briefly closed its doors amid the fallout from West’s antisemitic comments in October 2002, but then reopened within hours.
However, we’re told the only programs still active at the Donda Academy are its music curriculum. West’s rep declined Page Six’s request for comment and they have not addressed the original suit.
