His loss? Drake sued over fake Vogue magazine cover

Publishing giant Condé Nast has launched legal action against rappers Drake and 21 Savage, for unauthorised use of the Vogue trademark while promoting their new album, Her Loss.

Her Loss was released last week to mixed reviews and, as part of the promotional campaign, the rappers have been carrying out a tongue-in-cheek press tour featuring multiple publicity stunts. But according to Condé Nast, faking a Vogue magazine cover is no laughing matter.

Drake and 21 Savage sued over use of Vogue name to promote new album

The pair mocked up a faux Vogue cover which was then shared on Drake and 21 Savage’s social media feeds, which collectively boast more than 135 million followers.

The publicity stunt also included an email blast claiming that physical copies of the nonexistent Vogue would be distributed in US cities. The magazine company is now suing for $6.2 million in damages for the unlicensed use of its brand.

On October 30, Drake (real name: Aubrey Graham) took to Instagram to share the mock cover — and even took a moment to give Vogue and its editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, a shoutout.

“Thanks @voguemagazine and Anna Wintour for the love and support on this historic moment,” Drake captioned the post, which has since been deleted.

But Wintour and her magazine’s parent company claim that never happened, with Condé Nast claiming that Vogue and Wintour “have not endorsed [Her Loss] in any way.”

US Vogue editor Anna Wintour. The magazine is suing rappers Drake and 21 Savage for unauthorised use of the Vogue trademark while promoting their new album.Credit: Getty Images

“All of this is false. And none of it has been authorised by Condé Nast,” said a complaint filed on Monday night in a Manhattan federal court.

Drake has a long friendship with Wintour and regularly name-checks Vogue in his work. The 36-year-old recently shouted the fashion magazine out on his Jimmy Cooks collaboration with 21 Savage earlier this year, rapping: “B----, don’t tell me that you model if you ain’t been in Vogue.”

Condé Nast said it had tried since October 31 to resolve its differences with the rappers but has been unable to reach a resolution.

“[The] defendants’ flippant disregard for Condé Nast’s rights have left it with no choice but to commence this action,” it said.

The Vogue cover was the latest in a line of announcements that have formed Drake and 21 Savage’s fake press blitz.

The pair have also released a Saturday Night Live performance that never happened, appeared on Howard Stern for a pretend interview and also filmed an NPR Tiny Desk concert, which is also fake.

According to shock jock Howard Stern, he never even sat down with the pair.

“He’s answering questions from me using clips from a different interview, but he’s edited himself to look like he’s in our studio,” explained Stern.

“Instead of doing a press tour, he made up a fake press tour and released it; it’s great.”

Similar to Stern, NPR reacted much more warmly to the use of their likeness in the promotion for Her Loss, asking the duo to make good on their mock-up Tiny Desk performance.

However, it appears that the publishers of Vogue magazine have not responded in kind.

With Reuters

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