The Los Angeles Police Department is reportedly investigating Ye — the controversial rapper formerly known as Kanye West — after he allegedly punched a man in the face earlier this week.
Ye has not been formally charged with any crimes but he is reportedly a suspect in a battery case. The LAPD is investigating reports of a man punching another man several times, in West Hollywood, according to KTTV.
Representatives for Ye allege that the victim incited the incident when he "physically assaulted" Ye's partner, Australian architect and model Bianca Censori.
"The assailant didn't merely collide into her," Ye's representatives told TMZ. "He put his hands under her dress, directly on her body, he grabbed her waist, he spun her around, and then he blew her kisses. She was battered and sexually assaulted."
Ye was previously convicted of misdemeanor battery after a 2014 altercation with a paparazzo at Los Angeles International Airport. He was sentenced to two years probation, community service and anger management classes.
Ye's latest battery allegation comes on the eve of a new album by his longtime rival Taylor Swift, "The Tortured Poet's Department." Swift and Ye first butted heads at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, when Ye, then 33, snatched a microphone out of 19-year-old Swift's hand as she was accepting an award for Best Female Video.
The pair have continued to spar in the ensuing 15 years — notably Ye claimed that he "made that bitch famous" in his 2016 song "Famous." The song's accompanying music video featured a naked wax sculpture of Swift — which the singer-songwriter described as "revenge porn."
This is not the first time that a moment of professional success for Swift has coincided with controversy for Ye. In October 2022, Ye's career collapsed after he made several antisemitic comments and denied the Holocaust. Swift released her record-breaking album "Midnights" the same week that Ye lost several high-profile business deals as a result of his comments.
The LAPD did not immediately respond to HNGN's request for comment about the battery investigation.
