Kanye West will not face charges for an alleged physical altercation that took place with an autograph broker—and the rapper's lawyer couldn't be more pleased.
"We are satisfied with the resolution as it recognizes my client did nothing wrong," Ye's attorney Michael A. Goldstein said in a statement to E! News Aug. 23. "In fact, my client has on multiple prior occasions made every effort to graciously disengage from the particular person involved in this incident, whose behavior became that not of a fan but of an aggressive stalker."
He added, "For the two nights proceeding this particular incident, the same gentleman followed my client to three different locations and was captured on video approaching my client repeatedly entering into his personal space, which was unacceptable. The information concerning these prior incidents, along with video and photographic evidence, were provided to the LA City Attorney's office for review. Ultimately, the City Attorney made the right decision."
In early January, a police spokesperson told E! News that Kanye allegedly punched a man who asked for an autograph outside a private nightclub in Los Angeles. Police were called, but by the time they arrived, the Donda rapper had already left the area. According to authorities, Ye was named on the battery report.
After the altercation earlier this year, Kanye opened up about the incident, saying that the man was "taking autographs to make money on them" and had a "real attitude."
"Look, man, I love the paparazzi. I love the press, I love the media, everything," the Grammy-winning rapper said in a Jan. 15 interview with Hollywood Unlocked. "But then they send those two, probably like some agents or something, to really gaslight the situation."
Ye added, "This is the same as the paparazzi, this is not a fan. This is someone who is using your image, who probably never listened to your songs, are ones that are like, 'This is my song, for real?'"
While authorities did launch an investigation into the incident, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office told E! News Aug. 23 that they are not moving forward with criminal charges against Ye.
"Regarding this incident," the spokesperson shared, "after a thorough and careful review of all the evidence, our office is declining to file based on no reasonable likelihood of conviction."