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Drake and 21 Savage Settle Lawsuit Over Fake Vogue Cover
Drake and 21 Savage have reached a settlement with Condé Nast over the fake Vogue cover they used to promote Her Loss.
The duo settled out of court and agreed to pay an undisclosed monetary amount to the magazine’s publisher, who was seeking at least $4 million in damages. The agreement also includes a permanent injunction barring any further use of the Vogue trademarks.
In an email obtained by Billboard, Condé Nast general counsel William Bowes said the company was “glad to put this matter behind us” and revealed why the publisher decided to take legal action against the rappers.
“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.”
Saw 21 Savage and Drake’s upcoming Vogue cover today 👀 pic.twitter.com/Pix0Rz3Gb7
— Kea (@jacquemusx) October 31, 2022
Just days before the release of their joint album Her Loss, Drake posted a photo of him and Savage on what appeared to be the October 2022 cover of Vogue, while personally thanking the magazine’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour for the opportunity.
“Me and my brother on newsstands tomorrow!!” Drake wrote in his Instagram caption. “Thanks @voguemagazine and Anna Wintour for the love and support on this historic moment.”
They also printed up fake magazines containing doctored images from the actual October issue of Vogue and plastered the streets with the fake cover.
Condé Nast sued the duo for $4 million, calling the stunt a “flagrant infringement” of Vogue‘s trademark rights and accusing them of exploiting the “tremendous value that a cover feature in Vogue magazine carries.”
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order forcing them to remove all current and future displays of the fake magazine, saying it was “misleading consumers” and “deceiving the public.”
The fake Vogue cover was part of Drake and 21’s staged media campaign to promote Her Loss, which included a fake “SNL” performance and Howard Stern interview.