Singer Sues Kanye West Over Sample Despite Being Blocked For Nazi Love

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On Tuesday (March 25), singer-songwriter Alice Merton filed a lawsuit against Ye fka Kanye West in a federal court in California for using a sample of one of her songs after she denied his request. In the documents of the lawsuit, Merton states that West sampled her 2022 song “Blindside” for use in his song “Gun To My Head” featuring Kid Cudi and Ty Dolla $ign. She states that the discovery left her “understandably shocked and humiliated” to be associated with West after he previewed the song at a Vultures listening event in Miami, Florida, in December 2023.

West would later release “Gun To My Head” as part of a deluxe digital release of Vultures 2 last August. The lawsuit alleges that West had requested approval from Merton’s publisher, BMG, to use “Blindside” through Alien Music Services. When denied, Kanye West’s representatives followed up by asking the reason for the denial. BMG responded that “the artist’s values are contrary to our values” and that Merton was “unwilling to compromise her personal beliefs and wanted not to be associated with Ye in any manner.”

The publisher further revealed that Merton has “close ties to the holocaust through Jewish family members who survived its horrors” and that West’s “antisemitic, racist remarks” were contrary to her beliefs. The lawsuit also shares that Merton sustained a barrage of online threats and abuse from fans who were upset over “Gun To My Head” not being on the initial edition of Vultures 2. BMG had sent a cease and desist letter requesting written compliance to stop further copyright violations to West, which were then ignored. The German singer-songwriter even expressed that she has stopped performing the songs at her concerts and decided against traveling to the U.S. “for fear of confrontation or potential violence against her.”

The lawsuit is the latest action against West for copyright infringement by other musical artists. The estate of Donna Summer sued West last February for sampling her song “I Feel Love” without permission, stating that it “wanted no association with West’s controversial history.” Legendary metal singer Ozzy Osbourne also threatened to sue the Bully rapper for trying to use a Black Sabbath sample after being denied, “because he is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many.”