Drake and 21 Savage have agreed to settle with Vogue’s parent company Condé Nast over a fake magazine cover the duo used to promote their collaborative album Her Loss, reports Semafor.
In an internal memo obtained by Semafor, the publishing giant’s general counsel Will Bowes informed staff that the company has been granted an undisclosed settlement that will “bolster our ongoing creative output, including Vogue editorial.”
Vogue filed a lawsuit against the rappers back in November, alleging they misled fans into believing Vogue would actually release a special edition of the magazine after Drake and 21 announced it on social media. Condé Nast claims neither Vogue nor editor-in-chief Anna Wintour “endorsed” the album “in any way” despite receiving a shoutout from Drake.
Related Video
“Me and my brother on newsstands tomorrow,” Drake wrote on Instagram while promoting the fake cover in late October. “Thanks @voguemagazine and Anna Wintour for the love and support on this historic moment.”
Two days later, US District Judge Jed Rakoff barred Drake and 21 Savage from “using, displaying, dissenting, or distributing” the fake cover while ruling they were likely violating Condé Nast’s trademarks by “misleading consumers” and “deceiving the public.” The temporary restraining order also required the duo to take down any websites and social media posts sharing the image — indeed, Drake’s Instagram post announcing the fake cover has been deleted. They are also explicitly barred from mentioning Wintour.
The fake Vogue cover kicked off a promotional campaign for Her Loss mocking traditional rollouts in which Drake and 21 Savage also promoted an NPR Tiny Desk that never happened and faked clips from an “interview” with Howard Stern. Unlike Condé Nast, both NPR and Stern had fun with it.
Though NPR officially clarified the teaser was a spoof, it also embraced a future opportunity. Stern also praised the parody on his show, saying, “Drake did such a good job that the news outlets are reporting on it as if it’s real.”
Since the album dropped, Drake and 21 have also shared full-length parodies of Saturday Night Live and COLORS performances.
As for the album itself, our review highlighted 21 and Drake’s chemistry and praised them for peeling back “their respective curtains” and revealing truths “beyond trips to Paris and enough gunplay to make John Wick blush.”
However, Drake’s thinly veiled lines about Megan Thee Stallion cast a shadow over the album for many, and prompted her to tear into rappers who “dog pile on a black woman when she say one of y’all homeboys abused her.”
This article has been updated with the news that Drake and 21 Savage have reportedly agreed to settle the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
