It was all fun and games until it wasn’t. Rappers Drake and 21 Savage have been sued by Vogue‘s parent company Condé Nast for $4 million in damages for creating a fake magazine cover featuring the duo. In addition to street posters of the cover, a small number of magazines with the fake cover were distributed in New York.
The magazine was said to be the October 2022 issue featuring Jennifer Lawrence with her cover image swapped out for Drake (real name Aubrey Graham) and 21 Savage (real name Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph). Interior pages revealed on social media include ads from the October issue featuring Hailey Bieber and Bella Hadid tagged with graffiti writing.
Implying Vogue chief Anna Wintour was in on the prank with an Instagram post revealing the cover, Drake wrote, “Thanks @voguemagazine and Anna Wintour for the love an support on this historic moment. However, according to TMZ, Vogue and Anna ‘have not endorsed [Her Loss] in any way’ and have asked multiple times for all promos using the Vogue name to be taken down, but nothing’s been done.”
According to TMZ, Drake was said to be taken aback by the lawsuit because the magazine cover was just one of a series of well-received fake-out events rolled out in advance of the release of Her Loss. In addition to creating a fake “Tiny Desk” promo, Drake and 21 Savage’s team also recreated a clip implying a coming interview on “the Howard Stern Show.” Both programs reacted with humor to the posts, encouraging both to make real visits.
Someone on Canal St in NYC asked me if I wanted a “free” Vogue…
— Big Ben 🔤🧣 (@NFTBruv) October 31, 2022
Little did I know… 👀🔥 #HerLoss #Drake #21Savage #Vogue pic.twitter.com/EpcrZXXl0v
