KIM & KANYE

PITTED AGAINST EACH OTHER IN COURT

Kanye West pulled the trigger. On Aug. 1, the rapper’s touring company, Very Good Touring, filed a lawsuit seeking a jaw-dropping $9.86 million ( plus interest!) from insurance giant Lloyd’s. In court papers obtained by In Touch, Kanye alleges that despite paying premiums of “several hundred thousand dollars” for his Saint Pablo tour, Lloyd’s has repeatedly refused to fork over the money he lost when he canceled 23 concert dates in November amid a breakdown so intense that he had to be admitted to UCLA’S Neuropsy- chiatric Hospital Center for eight days. The lawsuit states that Lloyd’s is claiming that “Kanye’s use of marijuana may provide them with a basis to deny the claim” outright. The suit also spells out that Kanye demands a jury trial.

But it’s a demand he may regret. “This whole lawsuit can blow up in Kanye’s face, because if this goes to trial, then all of his and [wife] Kim Kardashian’s secrets will come out,” a family insider tells In Touch. Doctors who examined Kanye after his breakdown could be called to the witness stand. More than 20 hours

of footage was taken in the four days leading up to his breakdown — all of that would also be revealed. As In Touch exclusively reported in early August, a source says the footage is so explosive, it could destroy Kim and Kanye’s marriage. The truth about Kanye’s drug use would also come out, as well as carefully guarded Kardashian family secrets, because Lloyd’s has asked to see outtakes from Keeping Up With the Kardashians. “Kanye has opened a can of worms by launching this lawsuit,” says the family insider. “What comes out could be devastating to Kanye, his marriage to Kim and the Kardashian family.”

Kanye’s drug use is a pivotal part of the case. As In Touch first and exclusively reported, “Kanye has already given testimony about using marijuana and liquid marijuana,” says the source. His experimentation took place just days before his hospitalization. The insurance company would expose everything they learn about his drug use to defend their stance that his breakdown was caused by substance abuse. Says the source, “The company wants to know about any and all drugs Kanye has taken in the past, and they also want to know whether he has a history of using drugs that isn’t yet out there.”

Then there’s his Percocet use. Though his lawyers said he had a legal prescription for the painkiller in the weeks before his breakdown, explains the source, “The problem is that there are several discrepancies with what Kanye, Kim and Kanye’s lawyers have been saying about the prescription.” Kim, 36, gave sworn testimony that Kanye, 40, took one Percocet at a time. But in a video viewed by the insurance company,

Kanye said he took “two at a time.” (His lawyers have insisted, adds the source, that “Kanye was well within the doctor’s approved dosage.”)

Kanye’s doctors may have to testify. “If a psychiatrist who examined him was forced to take the stand and discuss what was going on with Kanye leading up to his breakdown, that would be a total game changer,” says a Kanye insider. The insurance company already has hundreds of pages of Kanye’s medical records and sworn testimony from multiple doctors, adds the source, “but they still want more from other medical personnel who treated him. Some of the more sensitive information in those records could be produced at trial.”

Text messages sent by Kanye’s inner circle and Kim would add to the explosive evidence. “The insurance company got hold of a particular text message sent by a key member of Kanye’s security detail that was about his breakdown and drug use,” says the source. “There were several other texts sent around, and the insurance company wants to get its hands on those, too. Kanye’s lawyers are still denying that drugs played a part in his breakdown, but that text message opened the door to the insurance company wanting to know more. They are also seeking text messages as well as emails from Kim that detail Kanye’s breakdown and drug use.”

The 20 hours of video contain even more bombshells. In it, says the source, Kanye talks about “me getting off drugs, bad drugs” and says “kids should throw away those drugs.” That’s not all. “If the footage of Kanye’s breakdown ever gets released, it would be devastating,” says the Kanye insider. “It would reveal a side of Kanye that has only been hinted at. Having 20 hours of Kanye footage, uncensored and unedited, is bombshell material. He may have said extremely private things about his and Kim’s marriage, his relationship with Kris Jenner, his feelings about the Kardashian family and more.”

The Kardashian family is particularly vulnerable. The insurance company is asking for footage from Keeping Up With the Kardashians that never aired. “That,” says the family insider, “could reveal just how fake the show is and damage Kim and Kanye’s credibility.” The footage may also reveal how family members really feel about one another, the extent of Scott Disick’s partying and how dire the situation is with Rob.

How much Kanye really earns will also come out. In February 2016, he famously claimed he is $53 million in debt. A year later, the average guarantee for a stop on his Saint Pablo tour was $550,000, says the source, adding that profits were usually “significantly higher” than the guarantee (and that’s not including merchandise sales, which account for an additional $300,000 in profits a night). “For just the two shows Kanye had scheduled on Dec. 30 and 31 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center,” says the source, “he was guaranteed more than $1.5 million per performance.”

Kanye wants all that money he insists he’s owed. But at what price? “This lawsuit can cost Kanye and Kim — and the rest of the Kardashians — a lot,” says the family insider. “If there’s a trial, they will have to answer some very difficult questions. The pressure is going to be immense, and Kanye, Kim and the Kardashians may never be the same again.” ◼

This could be catastrophic if the lawsuit goes to trial” — A FAMILY INSIDER