Kanye West Fires Divorce Attorney One Day Before Hearing

Kanye West fired his divorce attorney on Tuesday, just one day before his court hearing with his estranged wife Kim Kardashian on Wednesday. TMZ reported that West had fired lawyer Chris Melcher, with sources saying that their relationship "had become extremely difficult, with little communication." West has already secured a new attorney, Samantha Spector, for Wednesday's hearing.

Sources close to West said that he has complicated the divorce process by repeatedly changing his mind about what he wants and communicating poorly with his legal team. The insiders said that this pattern has continued since Kardashian filed for divorce in the first place, when West oscillated between going along with the process or objecting to it. Now, he is reportedly indecisive about how amicable he wants this breakup to be. Wednesday's hearing is primarily about Kardashian asking to be declared legally single and trying to expedite the divorce overall.

Spector is known for handling high-profile celebrity divorces. She represented Nicole Young in her divorce from rapper and producer Dr. Dre. However, TMZ's sources seemed to indicate that West was the one holding the process up, not his attorneys. Kardashian alluded to the same issue in an Instagram post last month about West.

"Divorce is difficult enough on our children and Kanye's obsession with trying to control and manipulate our situation so negatively and publicly is only causing further pain for all," she wrote at the time. "It saddens me that Kanye continues to make it impossible every step of the way. I wish to handle all matters regarding our children privately and hopefully, he can finally respond to the third attorney he has had in the last year to resolve any issues amicably."

Kardashian is expected to attend Wednesday's hearing remotely via video chat, while insiders said it is "highly unlikely" that West will attend at all. The rapper has been sporadically active on social media, and recently released his eleventh studio album, Donda 2. The album is only available on West's Stem Player music streaming service, which has kept some fans from even listening to it.

West made more of an impression on the public consciousness on Wednesday with the release of jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy Part 3 on Netflix. The documentary is about West's rise to fame, his meteoric career and his larger-than-life public persona. On social media, discussions of the documentary have blended seamlessly with discussions of the divorce proceedings. It is streaming now.