A judge has blocked Drake and 21 Savage from using a fake Vogue cover to promote their new album Her Loss.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff issued a restraining order on Wednesday barring the artists from further distributing the phony cover and forcing them to take down references to it on their social media accounts and websites just two days after Condé Nast sued them. He found that the promotional campaign likely infringes on the publisher’s trademarks by “confusing consumers” and “deceiving the public.”
“Issuance of the requested temporary restraining order is in the public interest to protect the public against confusion, deception, and mistake,” reads the order.
In addition to the phony cover, Drake and 21 Savage spoofed appearances on Saturday Night Live, NPR’s Tiny Desk series and The Howard Stern Show to promote Her Loss. While NPR used the parody to invite the artists onto its show, Condé Nast sued. The publisher accused them of exploiting the value of being tapped to grace its cover without actually attaining the honor in a lawsuit seeking damages of up to $4 million or triple their profits from the sales of the album.
Rakoff sided with Condé Nast, finding that it has a “likelihood of success” on its claims for trademark infringement, unfair competition, false endorsement and false advertising, among other claims. He barred them from further “using, displaying, dissenting or distributing” the fake Vogue cover and the counterfeit magazines they printed for the promotional campaign.
The judge also prohibited Drake and 21 Savage from referencing Anna Wintour, Vogue‘s Editor-in-Chief, for commercial purposes. As part of their stunt, the artists printed a complete reproduction of the October issue with some adaptions, including a photoshopped image of Drake with a young Wintour. Drake personally thanked her in an Instagram post for her “love and support.”
Representatives for Condé Nast, Drake and 21 Savage didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.