Drake and 21 Savage Settle Fake 'Vogue' Cover Lawsuit: Report

Paid the cost to promote 'Her Loss'

Photo: @champagnepapi (Instagram)

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Feb 17, 2023

Whether they were angling for a memorable rollout of Her Loss, or looking to make a point about the importance of media literacy, Drake and 21 Savage found themselves in legal hot water over promoting their collab album with a fake issue of Vogue magazine — a lawsuit that has now reportedly been settled.

TMZ reports that Drake and 21 Savage have settled the lawsuit brought against them by Vogue's publishers, mass media giant Condé Nast and parent company Advance Magazine Publishers Inc.

Citing "sources with direct knowledge," the publication claims the two "settled out of court and agreed to pay Vogue's publisher," though the settlement amount is unclear. It was initially reported that Condé Nast sought at least $4 million in damages.

In their filing, lawyers for Condé Nast argued that the duo's Her Loss rollout 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 ... All of this is false. And none of it has been authorized by Condé Nast."

The suit claimed that Drake and 21 Savage created counterfeit Vogue magazine issues and posters featuring themselves on the cover and distributed them in "North America's largest metropolitan areas," arguing that the fake cover led to "unmistakable" confusion among the public.

The cover star stunt did get the better of some media outlets, and while the Her Loss rollout featured similar-minded media spoofs of NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series and The Howard Stern Show, those properties opted not to serve the artists legal notice.

TMZ notes that following the lawsuit's filing, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing "all current and future displays of the mocked-up mag." Take our word for it, though — Drake definitely loves Exclaim! magazine.

Read Exclaim!'s review of Her Loss. 21 Savage will soon ball out with another famous Canadian.

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