'Vogue' sues rappers Drake and 21 Savage for four million for pretending they were in the magazine

At the end of October, rappers Drake and 21 Savage announced the release of their long-awaited new album,

.

To give more hype to their arrival, they conducted interviews, participated in

and became the cover of a magazine.

Or not.

Because for the promotion, the artistic duo, formed by the 36-year-old Canadian and the 30-year-old Londoner, made it clear that they were the protagonists of the October issue of

magazine in its American edition.

strategy

to enhance its relevance.

Something that can now be very expensive: Condé Nast, the publishing company of the most famous fashion magazine in the world, has filed a lawsuit against both rappers.

They demand four million dollars (the same amount in euros, at the current exchange rate) as damages.

It's not entirely clear if Drake and Savage 21 were trying to pull off an obvious prank or if they wanted to go further and pretend to pass themselves off, at least temporarily, as

stars .

But they came to hang the false cover of the publication on their social networks and accompanied it with a phrase that showed that everything was (or rather pretended to be) very real.

“My brother and I tomorrow at the newsstands!

Thank you,

and Anna Wintour for the love and support in this historic moment, "Drake assured, labeling the magazine itself.

In fact, among other lies or hoaxes to boost promotion were a (fake) concert for NPR, America's public radio, and a (fake) interview with host Howard Stern.

More information

21 Savage, the rapper from Atlanta who was actually British

As some media published last week, a series of copies of the supposed number of

were distributed in New York , something that Drake's public relations team did.

A

journalist named Simon Vozick-Levinson managed to get hold of one of them and posted a message on his Twitter account, saying: “A street delivery guy just gave me a copy of this.

It's not a real magazine, it's a Photoshopped version of

with a lot of promotional interventions from 21 and Drake.

Quite fun".

In the four images of the magazine that Vozick-Levinson posted on his Twitter, it was seen how some of the pages, even those containing advertisements, had been intervened so that the title of the album or the faces of the musicians could be seen.

a street teamer just handed me a copy of this.

it's not a real magazine - it's a photoshopped version of Vogue's October issue with a bunch of promo art for 21 and Drake's new album.

pretty funny stunt.

https://t.co/RJ8587nD5H pic.twitter.com/SeTD5Ozsh5

— Simon Vozick-Levinson (@simonwilliam) October 31, 2022

However, the joke can be expensive.

The Reuters news agency has reported on the lawsuit, explaining that Condé Nast argues that the rappers' promotional campaign had a great reach, that of the 135 million followers that both accumulate on their social networks, and that it was built "entirely ” in an unauthorized use by the magazine of its trademarks, as well as in false images that appear on the cover.

According to the lawsuit, neither the publishing company nor Anna Wintour, the magazine's almighty director and global content manager for all of Condé Nast, "have given any kind of support" to the artistic couple's album "of any kind."

The lawsuit speaks of "punitive damages" and trademark infringement.

That is why they have demanded from the artists and their teams the immediate withdrawal of all promotional material bearing the

and also the cessation of the commercial brand "immediately".

They also ask for the payment of those four million dollars or, if not, triple the profits obtained by the musicians for their album and for the false magazine.

"Everything is false, and nothing has been authorized by Condé Nast," reads the lawsuit filed on Monday night, November 7, in a federal court in Manhattan, New York.

The publisher assures that they have been since last October 31, when the promotional action began, trying to make the couple of musicians withdraw all references to them.

The duo's lawyer has refused to give explanations but, as explained by the celebrity portal

, always up to date with all the leaks that have to do with singers, actors and

, Drake's team has felt "very surprised" by the claim.