Drake and 21 Savage decided to settle with Conde Nast, three months after being sued over making a fake Vogue cover of themselves.
"As a creative company, we of course understand our brands may from time to time be referenced in other creative works," an internal memo distributed by Conde Nast reads; it was written by Will Bowes, the company's general counsel.
"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."
According to reports, the lawsuit was initially filed back in November 2022 shortly after the rappers released a series of promotions for their joint album "Her Loss"; It included the now-infamous fake Vogue cover of themselves.
The initial complaint filed by Conde Nast demanded damages amounting to $4 million from both rappers, but now that they have reached a settlement, the details of that are still undisclosed.
Promo-Gone-Wrong
This is not the only concept or piece of pop culture that Drake and 21 Savage spoofed.
The fake Vogue cover is only a part of a bigger promotional piece that also included a faux media blitz, Billboard reported, which also included a fake "Saturday Night Live" performance.
On top of that, Drake also upped the ante by having a fake interview with Howard Stern.
Although it seems like everything was done in good fun, it was called out and Conde Nast accused the rapers of "flagrant infringement."
Considering how popular and iconic Vogue is, the pair allegedly exploited the tremendous value that a cover feature in Vogue magazine carries."
"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," the publisher's lawyers noted, referring to Drake's Instagram caption that accompanied the fake cover, wherein he thanked Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
In his post, he wrote: "Me and my brother on newsstands tomorrow. Thanks [Vogue magazine] and Anna Wintour for the love and support on this historic moment Her Loss Nov 4th."
"Nor did Condé Nast authorize, much less support, the creation and widespread dissemination of a counterfeit issue of Vogue, or a counterfeit version of perhaps one of the most carefully curated covers in all of the publication business."
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