Drake and 21 Savage have been sued by Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue magazine, for a phoney front cover to promote their recent album, Her Loss.
The stunt was part of a series of counterfeit acts carried out by the pair to plug the project, most of it in a joking manner – only Condé Nast don’t find it funny. They’re now suing the pair for a reported fee of at least $4m (£3.5m) in damages, or triple the defendants’ profits from their album and “counterfeit” magazine.
The global media company have said the rappers’ promotional campaign, which included a now-deleted Instagram post to their more than 135 million collective followers thanking the “love and support” of longtime editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, was built “entirely” on the unauthorized use of Vogue trademarks.
“All of this is false. And none of it has been authorised by Conde Nast,” said a complaint filed on Monday night in a Manhattan federal court.
Condé Nast also argue the defendants created a fake issue of Vogue that was distributed in major metropolitan areas in America, accompanied by posters that replicated the layout of typical Vogue issues.
The Vogue cover wasn’t the only false piece of Her Loss promo. They also used deepfake to create a fake interview with legendary SiriusXM host Howard Stern, carried out a mock NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and a fake SNL skit, introduced by actor Michael B. Jordan. More recently, the pair performed ‘Privileged Rappers’ on a mock COLORS show.
It’s certainly been a novel and, in some ways, worthy promo campaign, pushing Her Loss on their own terms and having a bit of fun with it along the way. Condé Nast don’t see it that way, however, and have now begun legal proceedings.
