Her Loss has turned into Anna Wintour’s potential gain. Media company Condé Nast has officially filed a lawsuit against Drake and 21 Savage for the creation and dissemination of a fake Vogue issue to promote their collaborative album, Her Loss.
The suit claims the publicity stunt 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 on Monday, per Variety. “All of this is false. And none of it has been authorized by Condé Nast.”
According to the complaint, Drake and 21 Savage also distributed the counterfeit issues of Vogue in “North America’s largest metropolitan areas,” along with posters made in the magazine’s image. Within the mock version of the magazine, a young Anna Wintour is photoshopped alongside Drake.
On behalf of Vogue, Condé Nast seeks $4 million in damages (a.k.a. triple the profits earned from the album and magazine), punitive damages, and the end to any further trademark infringement. The company’s representatives also demand the fake magazine images be removed from the rappers’ social media and websites.
It turns out the magazine had been in contact with the two rappers leading up to the release of Her Loss, but it appears they opted for falsified coverage. It not only caused mass confusion but expressed a “flippant disregard for Condé Nast’s rights,” in the words of the media company.
A Vogue cover shoot was not the only fake press the two drummed up ahead of Her Loss. Fake appearances on The Howard Stern Show and NPR’s “Tiny Desk” were also created to promote the album, with neither of the media sources apparently minding too much (at least, not yet). Drake and 21 Savage even got help from Michael B. Jordan to put together a falsified SNL performance of “On BS.” The most recent press dupe is a fake COLORS Studio set.
All of this comes in lieu of actual promotion from these sources, as apparently it just seemed easier to create good press for yourself instead of crafting an album worthy of it.