Ye‘s recent run of anti-Semitic Nazi support has found him being sued for copyright infringement.
Ye Sued by German Singer After Using Sample She Refused to Clear
On Tuesday (March 25), singer-songwriter Alice Merton filed a federal lawsuit against Ye in the United States District Court of California over a sample she says the controversial rapper-producer used without permission on his 2024 song “Gun to My Head” featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Kid Cudi. According to court documents obtained by XXL, the German-born artist is claiming she adamantly refused to allow Ye to include vocals and elements of her 2022 song “Blindside” on the Vultures 2 track, but the controversial rapper-producer “willfully” and “maliciously” used the sample regardless.
According to the filing, members of Alice Merton’s family are holocaust survivors of Jewish decent. With that, her lawsuit claims she and her team made it abundantly clear upon Ye’s request to use the sample that “the artist’s values are contrary to our values.” Merton says she was “shocked and humiliated” in December of 2023 when Ye performed “Gun to My Head,” at a Vultures listening event, the song which features a sample of the singer’s vocals with the lyrics, “I sat down with a gun to my head.”
After “Gun to My Head” was not included on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 in February of 2024, Merton also claims that Ye’s fans blamed the singer and went so far as to make “threats” against her for not clearing the sample. However, the song was later included on a deluxe version of Vultures 2 when the album was released later that year.
Along with any profits Ye received as a result of the uncleared sample, Alice Merton is currently seeking punitive damages of no less than $1 million.
XXL has reached out to Ye’s team for comment.
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Ye’s Recent String of Racism and Anti-Semitism
As noted in the lawsuit, the German singer’s federal copyright lawsuit comes amid countless anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi sentiments Ye has consistently shared for the better part of three years. After taking aim at Jewish executives he claims have blackballed him from the entertainment industry on social media, Ye has continued his hateful rhetoric by designing swastika-themed clothing and donning hooded outfits inspired by the Ku Klux Klan.
Read More: Ye vs Lucian Grainge – How Universal Music Group’s CEO Became the Rapper’s Most Formidable Foe
Check out Ye’s “Gun to My Head” featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Kid Cudi, as well as Alice Merton’s “Blindside” for a side-by-side comparison of the sample in question.
