Kanye West has been called a “stalker” by his former bodyguard, who threatens to sue him for damages.
Steve Stanulis has spoken out against the rapper on numerous occasions, alleging that he was the “most needy and grumpy customer” he has ever had.
The bodyguard was accused of breaking a confidentiality agreement after he spoke about his time caring for Kim Kardashian’s husband on a podcast earlier this year, but now, he is the one threatening to sue.
After sharing several stories of Kanye’s alleged lawsuits and behavior, the rapper’s lawyers sent Steve a cease-and-desist letter in June, threatening to sue him for $ 10 million if he continued to speak.
(Image: Getty Images North America)
The letter claimed that Steve had made a series of “false and defamatory” statements about the star during his interview on the Hollywood Raw podcast presented by Dax Holt and Adam Glyn.
He also claimed that he violated a confidentiality agreement that he had signed in February 2016.
But now, Page Six reports that they have seen a response from Steve’s attorneys, who claim he never signed any deals in the first place.
The response reads: “As such, any efforts made by your clients to enforce any alleged ‘confidentiality agreement’ will be resolved with counterclaims, which will seek significant damages, along with court costs and legal fees.”
Steve’s attorney, Dmitriy Shakhnevich, told the site: “Our client is being harassed here, and we are not going to tolerate that.”
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And Steve himself said, “I’m not going to let Kanye West and [his wife, Kim Kardashian, whose signature also appeared on the cease-and-desist] push me just because they are rich and famous. I will not be intimidated by these two selfish! ”
The bodyguard added that he would never sign his “First Amendment rights” and that he is even developing a new movie based on his experiences as a bodyguard for the stars.
He added: “So if Kanye and Kim want to go to war, bring him in, they are not the only ones with a strong legal team.”
In May, Steve made a series of claims about the couple on the podcast.
He even went so far as to say that he was convinced that Kim and Kanye would notify the paparazzi of their whereabouts, saying that there was no way photographers always knew where they were going.
He said, “First of all, there is no way [paparazzi] not called in advance. There is no way that every time they leave, all these people know it.
(Image: kimkardashian / Instagram)
“There’s definitely someone calling ahead. That’s just my opinion. I’m just saying it’s a coincidence that wherever we are, they’re always there. Maybe they’re better than I think.”
Steve, who became a celebrity bodyguard after working simultaneously as a stripper and police officer, also shared stories about Kanye’s shocking behavior.
He says that Kanye would insist on walking 10 steps behind him at all times in public, so it’s actually quite difficult for him to do his job, and that Kanye wouldn’t even push a lift button for himself.
Steve said, “The first day I met him, it was fashion week. I was supposed to see him in the studio.
“When he gets there, we go into the elevator and he says, ‘Aren’t you going to push which floor we’re going to?’
“I thought, ‘I have no idea which floor it’s my first day.’ Then he starts ranting, ‘So you mean you didn’t call to find out where I’m supposed to go?’
“I said ‘no’. So he’s ranting and raving. So I said, ‘Look brother, we can do this in three ways. One, you could tell me which button to press, and now I’ll know. Two, you could press the button and I’ll see which one you press. Or three, you can sit here all day and tell me how important your time is and we won’t go anywhere. ‘
“Once again, that was our first interaction. It was for the first option.”
Mirror Online has reached out to Kanye reps for comment.
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