Kanye West Sued For Copyright Infringement Over L.A. Mission "KimYe" Rant: Report

BYAron A.Published on October 25, 2023815 Views

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 24: Kanye West attends the Los Angeles Mission's Annual Thanksgiving event at the Los Angeles Mission on November 24, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

Kanye West's infamous KimYe rant at a Thanksgiving event is now the subject of a new lawsuit.

While Ye and Ty Dolla $ign plot on the release of their forthcoming joint project, the Graduation rapper faces a new lawsuit related to his trip to Skid Row in 2021. If you recall, Kanye West paid a visit to the L.A. Mission at a Thanksgiving event when he grabbed a microphone and launched into a wild rant in the midst of his divorce from Kim Kardashian. But, according to Rolling Stone, the individual to captured the video is taking Kanye West to court for posting the video on Instagram without his permission.

Elijah Graham, a then-volunteer event planner for the L.A. Mission, filed a lawsuit claiming that filmed Ye on Nov. 24, 2021, hoping to monetize off of the clip. However, he claims that the Chicago artist illegally took his profits when he shared the video on his official Instagram page, claiming that Ye generated plenty of revenue off of the platform. He accuses Kanye West of using the clip without his permission. Now, Graham wants Ye to fork over “actual damages and disgorgement of all of defendant’s profits attributable to the infringement,” along with an injunction.

The Infamous KimYe Rant

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 24: Rev. Troy Vaughn (L) and Kanye West attend the Los Angeles Mission's Annual Thanksgiving event at the Los Angeles Mission on November 24, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

The video, which you can view on People, finds Ye going on an extensive rant where he admitted to wrongdoing as a husband. “We've made mistakes. I've made mistakes. I've publically done things that were not acceptable as a husband, but right now today, for whatever reason — I didn't know I was going to be in front of this mic — but I'm here to change the narrative,” he said.

Along with referring to himself as the “priest of my own home,” he added, “If the enemy can separate Kimye, there's going to be millions of families that feel like that separation is okay.” He continued: “... but when God brings Kimye together, there's going to be millions of families that are going to be influenced to see that they can overcome the work of the separation, of trauma the devil has used to capitalize to keep people in misery while people step over homeless people to go to the Gucci store.”

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.