Kanye West Loses Another Divorce Lawyer As Kim Kardashian Gets Trial Date

As Kanye West drags his feet in his ongoing divorce from Kim Kardashian, a judge granted an impatient Kardashian a December trial date Friday to finalize the former couple’s remaining financial and custody issues.

Kardashian, 41, and West, 45, were declared legally single at a hearing back in March, but they still haven’t reached a settlement — or been give final court orders — related to their vast wealth and four kids: North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 3.

“We’ve been ready for quite a while,” Kardashian’s lawyer Laura Wasser told Los Angeles County Judge Steve Cochran. Asked if the Skims founder wanted her trial date set this year or next, Wasser said the sooner, the better. “This year, your honor. I actually have a stipulated judgment drafted. I’m just trying to get someone to pay attention to me,” she told the court.

“The parties are getting along, and they are communicating, but where we are right now is, from (Kardashian’s) perspective, we would like to get Mr. West’s declaration of disclosure and close the case,” Wasser said. She added that her client filed her preliminary financial disclosures way back in November, but West’s remain outstanding.

The judge set a two-day trial starting Dec. 14 and said if the former couple needs more time to call witnesses and present evidence, the case would be sent to a different courtroom.

West is essentially without representation after Judge Cochran relieved his former lawyer, Samantha Spector, during the Friday hearing. Spector represented West at the March hearing but asked to be relieved in May citing a breakdown in communication.

The judge asked Wasser to “invite” West to respond in the case by Sept. 30. If he doesn’t, the trial is still expected to go forward, with Kardashian likely getting whatever orders she requests. At the moment, there are no formal orders related to custody of the couple’s children.

“We’d like the parties to try to settle the case and arrive at a stipulated judgment, if possible, and then be ready to have a trial on unresolved matters,” Judge Cochran said Friday.

The case has been somewhat streamlined after West acknowledged the couple has a “valid and enforceable” prenuptial agreement that kept all their property and debts separate, Wasser said.

Kardashian and West tied the knot in 2014 after several years of dating. Their combined star power shot them into the stratosphere of wealth and celebrity, but their relationship weathered challenges. After West launched an ill-fated run for the U.S. presidency in 2020 and made hurtful public comments about Kardashian on the campaign trail, she defended him online.

“He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a Black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder,” she shared in a written message on Instagram. “Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions.”

The couple reportedly tried counseling, but Kardashian filed for divorce on Feb. 19, 2021, and sought to bifurcate the case so she could become legally single ahead of final orders.

“I very much desire to be divorced,” Kardashian wrote in a sworn statement filed Feb. 23. “I believe that the court terminating our marital status will help Kanye to accept that our marital relationship is over and to move forward on a better path which will assist us in peacefully co-parenting our children.”

She concluded, “While I wish our marriage would have succeeded, I have come to the realization that there is no way to repair our marriage. Kanye does not agree but at least it appears that he has come to the realization that I want to end our marriage, even if he does not.”

West initially fought the request for fast-tracked single status but eventually relented, leading the judge to grant Kardashian’s request. In the month’s leading up to the decision, West alternated between criticizing Kardashian and her new boyfriend, Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, and begging for a reconciliation.

Hours after the decision, West took to Instagram to share a new video for his song “Eazy.” In the black-and-white clip, a claymation West throws a bag over the head of a character resembling Davidson, drags him behind a motorcycle and buries him up to his neck. West is also seen carrying a decapitated head as he raps.

“Everyone Lived Happily Ever After/Except You Know Who/JK He’s Fine,” three title cards read at the end. The second card initially starts with the words, “Except Skete,” but then the name “Skete” is crossed out. (Skete is the name West has used to refer to Davidson.)

From Rolling Stone US.