Kanye West is in hot water again, this time facing a hefty $1.5 million lawsuit.
BackGrid USA Inc. and its British affiliate, Backgrid London Ltd., claim that the rapper shared ten of their paparazzi photos on Instagram and his Yeezy website without proper licensing.
The lawsuit, obtained by Law 360, accuses Kanye of copyright infringement. The company alleges this has cost them “up to hundreds of thousands of dollars” in potential revenue.
According to the suit, Kanye’s career relies heavily on copyright laws as an artist and entrepreneur. Therefore, he should be aware of licensing requirements before using others’ work.
BackGrid is demanding $150,000 in damages for each photo, along with attorney fees. Additionally, they are asking for an accounting of all profits Kanye might have gained from posting the photos.
In a surprising twist, Kanye threw a party in Los Angeles just a day before the lawsuit was publicized. The rapper played DJ, sharing an eclectic mix of songs from Prince, Eurythmics, The Eagles, and hits from JAY-Z and himself.
The most controversial moments came when Kanye played songs by Diddy and R. Kelly. Producer Mike Hector, who was at the party, noted on Twitter: “I’m at this party and Kanye DJing. He played 2 Diddy songs and then an R. Kelly song right after. This n-gga do not give a fuck.”
Kanye’s recent track, “Carnival” from his Vultures 1 album, references both R. Kelly and Diddy. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and includes the lyric: “Anybody pissed off, gotta make ’em drink the urine/ Now I’m Ye-Kelly, bitch, now, I’m Bill Cosby, bitch/ Now, I’m Puff Daddy rich, that’s #MeToo me rich.”
West previously collaborated with R. Kelly in 2012 on the G.O.O.D. Music compilation album, Cruel Summer.
With the lawsuit looming and Kanye’s controversial actions continuing, it seems the rapper’s life is anything but dull.
