Drake and 21 Savage are in hot water with publishing giant Condé Nast for using fake magazine covers for promotional material for their new collaborative album, “Her Loss.”
Documents obtained by RadarOnline show that the corporation that owns Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Pitchfork, Wired, and GQ, were not pleased that the rap duo faked magazines covers using Condé Nast’s intellectual property. The publishing giant is alleging trademark infringement and seeking $4 million.
Condé Nast filed its federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. Both artists are named in the suit. Between the two of them, they can afford a $4 million judgment if they lose. Drake, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham, has a net worth of $150 million. 21 Savage, whose real name is Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, has a net worth of $12 million.
Not in Vogue
The image in question is a mock Vogue cover that features Drake and 21 Savage sharing a pose as if they are on the cover of the magazine.
Advance Magazine Publishers Inc., Condé Nast‘s parent company, alleges that the artists used “unauthorized cover images, full mock-ups of the mag and the endorsement of editor-in-chief Anna Wintour,” The Los Angeles Times reported.
The company wants the court to issue an immediate injunction on their use of the Vogue trademark and have any physical copies of the counterfeit magazine destroyed.
“This action arises out of a widespread promotional campaign recently launched by world-famous musical artists Drake and 21 Savage, built entirely on the use of the VOGUE marks and the premise that Drake and 21 Savage would be featured on the cover of Vogue’s next issue as a means of promoting Defendants’ newly released album ‘Her Loss,’” the suit reads.
Interestingly enough, on his official Instagram Drake issued a “mock” thank you to Vogue and its Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, who reportedly had no involvement with Drake or his album according to the suit, for being “featured.”
“Me and my brother on newsstands tomorrow!! Thanks @voguemagazine and Anna Wintour for the love and support on this historic moment, the Oct. 30 post read.
Condé Nast said the fake promotion for ‘Her Loss,’ which premiered on Nov. 4, confused their readers.
NBC reports that Condé Nast tried to resolve the confusion on Halloween when the company discovered counterfeit magazines were being distributed in large cities.
“All of this is false,” the complaint continued. “And none of this has been authorized by Condé Nast.” The company further explained “in furtherance of their deceptive campaign” Drake and 21 Savage have “gone so far as to create a counterfeit issue of Vogue magazine – distributing copies in North America’s largest metropolitan areas plastering posters of the counterfeit cover along streets and buildings throughout these cities, and disseminating images of the unauthorized counterfeit magazine to the more than 135 million social media users who actively follow Drake and 21 Savage on social media.”
The suit makes it clear, the “cover” was not approved.
“Nor did Condé Nast authorize, much less support, the creation and widespread dissemination of a counterfeit issue of Vogue, or a counterfeit version of perhaps one of the most carefully curated covers in all of the publication business in service of promoting Defendants’ new album,” court papers state.
At press time, neither Drake nor 21 Savage’s camp had issued a statement addressing the lawsuit.
