Since Condé Nast accused Drake and 21 Savage of stealing its whole flow bar for bar with a fake Vogue Magazine cover, the dust finally settled and so did the Her Loss rappers.
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Drake is known for having big fun with his albums, often blurring the line between reality and creative license. When it came to the rollout of his joint album Her Loss with 21, he f*cked around a bit too much. Vogue’s parent company made sure they found out. Condé Nast sued the rappers for $4 million dollars in damages. CBS News reports on Thursday, the publishing giant settled with Drake and 21 for an undisclosed amount.
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The lawsuit filed in November claimed that the fake cover created “unmistakable” confusion and “widespread belief that the counterfeit issue and counterfeit cover disseminated by Defendants were real.”
A federal judge agreed with Condé Nast, issuing a restraining order two days later to cease the promotion and use of the fake Vogue cover.
Drake And 21 Savage Played Too Much
The brand, whose edgy high fashion editorials inspired ballroom scene dances of the same name, is used to being a part of pop culture. This time, Condé Nast general counsel Will Bowes says Drake and 21 simply took it too far at the company’s expense.
“As a creative company, we of course understand our brands may from time to time be referenced in other creative works,” Bowes said.
“In this instance, however, it was clear to us that Drake and 21 Savage leveraged Vogue’s reputation for their own commercial purposes and, in the process, confused audiences who trust Vogue as the authoritative voice on fashion and culture.”
Aubrey even had the nerve to thank Anna Wintour directly in his initial post of the cover. The marketing mastermind’s shady shenanigans successfully caused a stir. The trolling also caused enough deliberate confusion to warrant copyright infringement claims.
In addition to the fake cover, the “magazine” had multiple pages mocking the real deal. It went on to poke fun at the ads typically seen in vogue. One spread even featured models rocking 21 Savage’s iconic knife tattoo on their foreheads. “Issa knife,” but make it fashion!
The tongue-in-cheek album rollout also included a video of spoofing Vogue for “What’s In My Bag” with 21 Savage. The undercover Brit poked fun at himself and the jokes that were flying when ICE arrested him for overstaying his visa. A good sense of humor is usually the way to go, but Condé Nast wasn’t laughing.
Condé Nast Says They Tried To Make It Work Before Taking It To Court
According to Bowes, the company tried to be good sports about the situation before the lawsuit. He said the company reached out to resolve the issue directly with Drake and 21 before taking them to court. Unfortunately, both the rappers and their teams reportedly ignored the repeated attempts.
Condé Nast isn’t short on money but said they would put the secret amount from the settlement to good use.
“As part of our agreement we have been granted a monetary settlement that will bolster our ongoing creative output, including Vogue editorial, as well as a permanent injunction barring further commercial uses of the Vogue trademarks,” Bowes continued.
Neither rapper has commented on the settlement agreement yet.