Ye in 2021 Deposition Video: 'You Don’t Have the Right to See My Face'

Video of a 2021 deposition featuring the artist formerly known as Kanye West is making the rounds thanks to an upcoming A&E series.

The deposition stems from a lawsuit filed against Ye and Yeezy Apparel by MyChannel Inc. back in 2020, with reports at the time stating that the 24-time Grammy winner had been accused of breaching an oral agreement and copying the company’s tech. The two parties were later reported to have reached a dismissal agreement.

But first, Ye was subjected to a deposition, as seen in TMZ-shared clips from the upcoming A&E series Interrogation Raw: Celebrity Under Oath, set to premiere on Dec. 26. The footage of the Zoom session in question, circa June 2021, begins with Ye in a Rooted In Ignorance hat. He’s then asked whether he is simultaneously using his phone during the deposition, which Ye confirms.

“Due to my mental geniusness, in order to focus on this bullshit, I need to be on a phone,” Ye said at one point, prompting his own legal team to speak up. Ye then agreed to not be on his phone, though not without a very on-brand caveat: The hat was coming off, and a signature all-over head covering was going on.

“Because you don’t have the right to see my face,” Ye said when asked about the mask. Asked further whether he was planning to keep the mask on for the duration of the session, Ye replied with a shoulder-shrugging “perhaps.”

In another clip, Ye is asked to name his current location, which he appears to decline by arguing that those asking are “never gonna see me again.” Later, he takes additional issue with this line of questioning, particularly when pressed to name the items in the room with him at the time of the deposition.

“Are you stupid?” he asked. “I don’t have time to be talking about, yeah, I got a chair in the room. You are talking to the richest Black person in the history of America.”

The Ye footage, of course, is far from the first example of a deposition of note making its way into the public’s hands and thus becoming popular in its own right, as this footage is guaranteed to do. Lil Wayne’s 2012 deposition footage was once a persistent presence in American pop culture, as was Justin Bieber’s own such situation two years later.

Ye’s 2024 has been decidedly busy, as he’s closing out the year with two Vultures albums in the proverbial rearview and a Grammy nomination for his and Ty Dolla Sign’s Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid-featuring Hot 100 No. 1 “Carnival.” The track was a key part of Carti's undeniably momentous headlining set at Rolling Loud Miami this weekend.

Next, at least if publicly announced plans hold, is Bully. Unlike the two Vultures projects released earlier this year, Bully is slated to be a Ye-only affair, his first in the solo studio album realm since Donda, released the same year the deposition footage was captured.