Kanye West sued for copyright infringement following antisemitism
Kanye West, who recently left the US for Japan, has been sued yet again. This time, it is for alleged copyright infringement. The controversial lawsuit was recently filed in California federal court by a singer who supposedly refused to clear a sample for Kanye due to his antisemitic tendencies.
The individual who filed the lawsuit is a singer named Alice Merton. She claims that despite a refusal, Kanye still used a sample of her song ‘Blindside’ for Vultures 2, specifically for the song ‘Gun To My Head’ — a bonus track.
The section of the song that Merton highlights is the line, “I sat down with a gun to my head,” which is the opening line of her ‘Blindside.’ Merton states that the melody of ‘Blindside’ plays repeatedly throughout ‘Gun To My Head’ and is a blatant rip-off of her song.
The vocalist has insisted that she was both “shocked and humiliated” when she found out she had been ignored by West and unveiled that she didn’t even realise he had used her track until a clip of him performing it live surfaced online.
Merton rejected the initial request, and so did her label. In a statement, she said West’s “values are contrary to our values.” In the lawsuit, Merton insists that West didn’t even approach her until he had already performed it.
As a German native who is extremely sensitive to antisemitic rhetoric, the vocalist Merton asserted she wants nothing to do with West or his brand because of his “antisemitic, racist remarks which were made publicly and continue to be made publicly.” She is not only German but is also a descendant of Holocaust survivors.
Merton has alleged that West fans were “outraged” after she refused the clearance and that her decision led to threats. The Bully creator is not in the US, so his cooperation with any lawsuit filed against him is unlikely. Whether or not he will acknowledge that he used Merton’s track is yet to be decided.