“All of this is false”: Why Drake was sued by Vogue magazine
Drake is a prolific musician and has a lot of money, so it is unsurprising that he has faced some legal challenges, but in 2022, the Toronto native found himself on the end of a lawsuit from the parent company of Vogue magazine Condé Nast.
The legal action was taken by Condé Nast in the summer of 2022 after Drake and 21 Savage rose to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their hit single ‘Jimmy Cooks’. There is a verse in the track where Drake raps, “Don’t tell me that you model if you ain’t been in Vogue.”
Shortly after the release of their collaborative singles, Drizzy and Savage released their joint project, Her Loss. However, to promote the album, the Scorpion creator printed countless copies of fake Vogue magazine covers featuring the two rappers. Understandably, Condé Nast disapproved of this move.
The promotional technique utilised to sell more copies ended up resulting in a heavy lawsuit from the company seeking damages of $4 million or triple the rappers’ profits from their album.
Prior to the album’s release Drake captioned a since-deleted Instagram post, “Me and my brother on newsstands tomorrow!! Thanks, @voguemagazine and Anna Wintour, for the love and support on this historic moment.” The image was also printed on flyers.
The company instisted that 21 savage and Drake had run a “deceptive campaign” by Drake thanking longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour for the cover. The lawsuit read, “All of this is false. And none of it has been authorised by Condé Nast. 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.”
It continued, “[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.”
Drake received a lot of backlash for Her Loss, and on the album, he called out a number of people including Megan Thee Stallion and tech founder Alexis Ohanian, husband of tennis superstar Serena Williams.
On the song ‘Circo Loco,’ Drake raps, “This b*** lie ‘bout getting shots but she still a stallion,” where he took the side of fellow Canadian Tory Lanez, who, at the time, was still involved in legal proceedings against Mega Thee Stallion.
After months of legal proceedings concerning Her Loss, Drake reached an official settlement with Condé Nast. A statement written by the company’s executive, Will Bowes, noted that the settlement will “bolster our ongoing creative output, including Vogue editorial.”