Drake and 21 Savage are being sued by the publishers of “Vogue” magazine.
Condé Nast has filed a lawsuit against the stars for allegedly using the fashion bible’s name without permission to promote their new album, “Her Loss”, and argued the musicians’ publicity campaign was build “entirely” on the unauthorised use of “Vogue” trademarks and false claims they would appear on the next cover of the publication with the “love and support” of editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
A complaint filed in the Manhattan federal court earlier this week argued the pair had exploited the “tremendous value that a cover feature in ‘Vogue’ magazine carries” and added: “All of this is false. And none of it has been authorised by Condé Nast... ‘Vogue’ magazine and its editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, have had no involvement in ‘Her Loss’ or its promotion, and have not endorsed it in any way.
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“Nor did Condé Nast authorise, 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.”
The publishers said Drake and Savage created a fake issue of the magazine, which was distributed in major metropolitan areas, accompanied by posters that mimicked the magazine’s layout.
They argued that this resulted in “unmistakable” confusion among members of the public, including media outlets which hailed the pair as the magazine’s “new cover stars”.
Condé Nast, which is also known as Advance Magazine Publishers Inc, is seeking at least $4 million in damages or triple the stars’ profits from their album and “counterfeit” magazine.
It is also claiming for punitive damages and an end to any trademark infringement.
The publishers said they had tried repeatedly since October 31 to resolve the issues without taking legal action.
They said: “(The) defendants’ flippant disregard for Condé Nast’s rights have left it with no choice but to commence this action.”