MIDTOWN — An international public relations firm filed a $369,000 lawsuit against a former executive for secretly representing Kanye West after he signed a contract with Adidas while the PR agency still worked for Nike, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.
Marketing firm Karla Otto claimed Debra Thom, who was making $215,000 a year, kept working with the "Gold Digger" rapper after he ended his $10,000 monthly retainer with the company in Jan. 2013 and gave Yeezy’s people the firm’s “confidential media list” in June, 2015, while he was working with the rival sneaker brand, court papers read.
Otto then found out about Thom’s machinations in November and fired her.
Apart from working with Adidas, Thom also helped West with “appearances, product gifting, video releases, editorial placement and brand strategy,” according to the lawsuit.
West’s latest album, “The Life of Pablo,” features a song dissing Nike with the lyrics, “Nike out here bad, they can't give sh-t away”.
Yeezy signed with Adidas in December 2013 for a reported $10 million.
Both the lawyer for Otto and spokesman for the firm declined to make a statement.
Thom was not immediately available for comment.
