Rapper Kanye West and his wife are preparing to file a lawsuit against a Beverly Hills dentist who they say caused Kanye to become addicted to laughing gas (N2O) during a dental procedure in 2024.
Kanye West and his wife sent a notice of lawsuit to dentist Thomas Connelly through their lawyer, E! News reported. They accused the dentist of providing a large amount of N2O when Kanye had cosmetic dentistry, leading to the rapper falling into a state of addiction.
N2O (Dinitrogen oxide or nitrous oxide) or laughing gas is one of the colorless inorganic compounds with a slightly sweet taste. This substance enters the body in gas form, displacing oxygen, causing a lack of oxygen, inhibiting the central nervous system, and causing many paranoid feelings.
"He repeatedly provided nitrous oxide and other sedatives to Ye in medically unreasonable amounts and at a frequency that was not considered medically appropriate. Specifically, he sent large cylinders of the gas to Ye's private residences (including the one where the rapper lived with his wife, Bicanca Censori), encouraging him to inhale laughing gas for non-medical purposes," the statement said.
The couple's attorneys also allege that the dentist instructed Kanye West to self-administer laughing gas and continued to provide it after the rapper began to exhibit psychotic symptoms and erratic behavior consistent with the abuse. Additionally, the dentist allegedly injected Kanye West with a sedative similar to propofol and discharged him from the hospital without a medical evaluation. The notice also accused the dentist of taking “exorbitant payments” for Kanye’s dental care, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“As a result, Ye suffered extreme psychological and physical stress, requiring urgent medical attention,” the attorney wrote in a letter to Connelly. “His actions and omissions were extremely negligent and reckless. Some of them may have been intentional and malicious.”
Kanye’s legal team said the 47-year-old artist suffered neurological damage and physical impairment, as well as psychological trauma from prolonged exposure to laughing gas, a pre-anesthetic used in dentistry to relieve pain and anxiety. The attorney also said Kanye’s addiction to laughing gas deprived his wife of companionship, support, and a healthy relationship with her husband. "Instead of enjoying a healthy marriage, she was forced to watch Ye's physical and mental decline and to shoulder the responsibility of caring for him under extremely stressful circumstances. These damages continued to increase as Ye sought treatment to recover his health and work," the lawyer wrote.
Dr. Thomas Connelly, who has dental practices in Beverly Hills and Manhattan, has not yet responded to Kanye West and his wife's announcement that they are preparing to sue.
Last August, Kanye's former chief of staff, Milo Yiannopoulos, also criticized dentist Thomas Connelly. "Connelly got Ye addicted to laughing gas. I believe Connelly sought to impair Ye's cognitive abilities to make millions of dollars," Milo wrote on X.
The former chief of staff said he had filed a complaint with the Dental Board of California, USA. In the lawsuit, he accused the dentist of being “a dangerous predator who preys on African-American celebrities.” He said Thomas Connelly charged Kanye $50,000 a month just for providing laughing gas. At the time, the dentist denied Milo Yiannopoulos’ allegations.
Last year, Kanye West made headlines when he appeared with his new teeth – titanium-coated teeth worth $850,000 (VND 22 billion). Kanye also took to Instagram to show off his unique metal teeth, comparing himself to the villain Jaws in the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. Dr Thomas Connelly praised Kanye's "big move" in an interview with the Mail: "His vision for unique artistic design goes far beyond the development of dentistry. The combination of Kanye's vision with dental science has created a truly epic new look."