Ye Slapped With Copyright Infringement Lawsuit By German Singer Over Nazi Support

Ye’s anti-semitic banter has caused him to lose business deals with Gap, Adidas and Balenciaga.

German singer Alice Merton filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Ye, formally known as Kanye West, for alleged unauthorized usage of her music on Ye’s Vultures album, due to his support of Nazis, People reported.

The suit was filed on March 25, for “unauthorized commercial exploitation of the musical composition ‘Blindside’” and refusing to be associated with the rapper. The filing by song owners, Merton, Merton & Grauwinkel LLC and Paper Plane Publishing LLC, claim The College Dropout rapper “willfully engaged in the infringement of copyright with the composition of ‘Gun to the Head’ which contains an unauthorized sample” of the song.

Plaintiffs of the suit are pushing for “injunctive relief and damages” for the alleged copyright infringement and unfair competition.” “Plaintiffs were damaged by that infringement based on their ownership of the composition, including 50% of the publishers’ share and the writers’ share of those rights,” the filing additionally mentioned.

Filed in the California District Court, “Gun to My Head” was previewed during an early Vultures listening party back in December 2023. Garnering popular attention as the first collaboration with rapper Kid Cudi in years, Ye allegedly failed to clear the “Blindside” sample before previewing it publicly, according to Rolling Stone. Merton argues the sample “spans most of the entire song’s baseline melody,” in addition to “vocal recordings of the opening lyric line… ‘I sat down with a gun to my head.’”

The singer was allegedly “shocked and humiliated” following websites claiming the song was a “collaboration” with Ye, Kid Cudi, and Merton.

The lawsuit cites that Merton denied Ye’s request to clear the sample but failed to provide a reason why. However, when rights management giant BMG inquired, Merton and her team stated that West’s “values are contrary to our values,” specifically highlighting Ye’s controversial anti-semitic remarks. “Alice Merton was unwilling to compromise her personal beliefs and wanted not to be associated with [West] in any manner,” the filing states, adding “Merton is a German resident who has close ties to the Holocaust through Jewish family members who survived horrors and as such feels closely connected to it.”

“Of significant concern to plaintiff Merton, were defendant [West’s] antisemitic, racist remarks which were made publicly and continue to be made publicly.”

When the song was left off the album following its August 2024 release, Merton received threats, causing her fear of “returning to America for further tour dates.”

Ye’s anti-semitic banter has caused him to lose business deals with Gap, Adidas, and Balenciaga.