Drake Was Sued by Condé Nast Over His Fake Vogue Cover
In the summer of 2022, Drake and 21 shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their hit single “Jimmy Cooks,” in which Drake raps, “Don’t tell me that you model if you ain’t been in Vogue.” A few months later, in November 2022, Drake and 21 Savage teamed up for the collaborative album Her Loss, and to promote the album, they printed countless copies of fake Vogue magazine covers featuring the two rappers. But what was meant to be a promotional technique ended up resulting in a lawsuit from Vogue itself.
Drake and 21 Savage shared a fake ‘Vogue’ cover ahead of ‘Her Loss’s release
In November 2022, Vogue‘s parent company Condé Nast brought a lawsuit against Drake and 21 Savage for their false Vogue magazine covers that they printed to promote their album, Her Loss. The publisher is seeking damages to the tune of $4 million, or triple the rappers’ profits from their album and its “counterfeit” magazine — whichever amount is higher.
“Me and my brother on newsstands tomorrow!!” Drake captioned a since-deleted Instagram post of the false magazine cover. “Thanks @voguemagazine and Anna Wintour for the love and support on this historic moment.” It was also printed on flyers and distributed in major cities across North America.
Vogue sued Drake for a fake Vogue magazine cover
The lawsuit claims that the rappers ran a “deceptive campaign” by Drake thanking longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour for the cover, as if she was involved in its creation.
“All of this is false. And none of it has been authorized by Condé Nast,” the company wrote in the suit. “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.”
“[Drake and 21 Savage]’s flippant disregard for Condé Nast’s rights have left it with no choice but to commence this action and seek the immediate injunctive relief requested herein, together with any and all available monetary remedies to deter the type of flagrant infringements and false advertising in which [Drake and 21 Savage] have engaged,” it added.
‘Her Loss’ has sparked backlash for lyrics about Megan Thee Stallion and Alexis Ohanian
Vogue isn’t the only one to have had a negative reaction to Her Loss‘ release. On the album, Drake called out people including Megan Thee Stallion and tech founder Alexis Ohanian, husband of tennis superstar Serena Williams.
On the song “Circo Loco,” Drake rapped “This b*** lie ‘bout getting shots but she still a stallion,” seemingly taking the side of fellow Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, who is on trial for his alleged shooting of Megan Thee Stallion in July 2020. After the song’s release, Megan took to Twitter to express her anger.
“Stop using my shooting for clout b**** a** n****s!” she wrote. “Since when [the f***] is it cool to joke [about] women getting shot! You n****s especially RAP N****S ARE LAME! Ready to boycott bout shoes and clothes but dog pile on a Black woman when she say one of y’all homeboys abused her.”
On the track “Middle of the Ocean,” Drake addressed Serena Williams and her husband: “Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie / He claim we don’t got a problem but / No, boo, it is, like you comin’ for sushi / We might pop up on ’em at will like Suzuki.” Ohanian responded with tweets of his own.
“It’s cliché, but life changed when I became a husband + papa. It’s made me 100x better as a man and a businessman. In @serenawilliams I found a partner I knew I would never outgrow, who would always motivate me to be greater,” he said in a tweet.
“The reason I stay winning is because I’m relentless about being the absolute best at whatever I do — including being the best groupie for my wife & daughter,” he added.
