Drake and 21 Savage are being sued for their fake Vogue cover

Drake and 21 Savage are being sued by Conde Nast for the counterfeit Vogue magazine cover they used in promotion for their joint album. (champagnepapi/Instagram, 21savage/Instagram)

Drake and 21 Savage are being sued by Condé Nast, the owner and publisher of Vogue magazine, for their fake magazine cover during the promotion of their joint album Her Loss.

In court documents obtained by CTV News Toronto, Condé Nast said the rappers’ did not have the Vogue magazine’s permission or authority to pursue their “deceptive” campaign, which included distributing copies of the counterfeit magazine in major North American cities and sharing images of it to their combined more than 138 million social media followers.

The social media posts including the fake Vogue cover have since been deleted from both Drake and 21 Savage’s platforms.

In the complaint, which was lodged to a New York district court on Monday, Condé Nast said it stands firm that its magazine and Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour had no involvement with the Her Loss promotion, and that many mistakenly thought the cover was real.

The counterfeit Vogue magazine cover. (Supplied)

“The confusion among the public is unmistakable,” the court documents read. “Immediately following [the] defendants’ deceptive social media posts, numerous media outlets published stories with titles like ‘Drake & 21 Savage Land Vogue Cover Ahead Of Collab Album ‘Her Loss’, Drake and 21 Savage are Vogue’s new cover stars, and Drake & 21 Savage Make History On The Cover Of ‘Vogue.’”

The magazines 'hit the newsstands' on Oct. 31, and Condé Nast said it has repeatedly demanded Drake and 21 Savage to stop and take appropriate measures to prevent any further confusion before the album’s released on Nov. 4.

CTV News Toronto reached out to Drake’s lawyer, Larry Stein, but did not receive a response before publishing.

“Nothing was done, with Defendants continuing to benefit from the infringing social media posts that would take seconds to take down,” the legal documents read.

“Defendants’ flippant disregard for Conde Nast’s rights have left it with no choice but to commence this action and seek the immediate injunctive relief requested herein, together with any and all available monetary remedies to deter the type of flagrant infringements and false advertising in which Defendants have engaged.”

According to the court documents, the publishing company is seeking up to $4 million in damages, or triple the amount the pair profited from their album and counterfeit magazine sales, whichever is greater.

The publisher is also seeking punitive damages and for all copies of the counterfeit magazine to be destroyed.

The counterfeit cover was not the only spoof the rappers used to promote their joint project. The pair posted a video of their NPR Music Tiny Desk performance, which has been confirmed by the publication to be fake.

“Let’s do it forreal tho,” NPR Music tweeted in response.