Drake and 21 Savage have reached a settlement with Vogue’s parent company Condé Nast, Variety has confirmed. The pair were sued by the media giant in November over their use of a fake Vogue magazine cover to promote their chart-topping joint album “Her Loss.”
While the amount of the settlement has not been disclosed — the original trademark infringement lawsuit sought $4 million in damages — a memo written by Will Bowes, Condé Nast’s general counsel, noted that the settlement will “bolster our ongoing creative output, including Vogue editorial.” It also resulted in a permanent injunction barring further commercial uses of the Vogue trademarks.
Related Stories
“As a creative company, we of course understand our brands may from time to time be referenced in other creative works,” Bowes wrote. “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.”
Popular on Variety
Variety has reached out to reps for Drake and 21 Savage for comment.
Drake and 21 were sued by the media company over a fake magazine cover that was posted on social media and sniped in select cities in an effort to promote their joint album “Her Loss.” Condé Nast alleged the rappers’ promotional campaign for the record was “built entirely on the use of the Vogue marks and the premise that Drake and 21 Savage would be featured on the cover of Vogue’s next issue,” according to a complaint filed in a Manhattan federal court. “All of this is false. And none of it has been authorized by Condé Nast.”
In Thursday’s memo, Bowes says the publication “tried to resolve the matter amicably, our outreach efforts were repeatedly ignored,” but Drake and 21 “went ahead using the Vogue name to print a fake edition and cover of Vogue, along with out-of-home marketing assets and globally disseminated social and video posts.”
The duo did the same with other publications and platforms by releasing fake press and interview clips that circulated in the week leading up to “Her Loss.” Among them: fake appearances on “The Howard Stern Show,” NPR’s “Tiny Desk” and “Saturday Night Live.”