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German Singer Sues Kanye West for Copyright Infringement Related to His Antisemitic, Racist Remarks
Kanye West walking on the red carpet during the 67th Grammy Awards held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA on February 2, 2025. Photo: Elyse Jankowski/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
German singer-songwriter Alice Merton filed a lawsuit against Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) in US District Court in California on Tuesday for copyright infringement, claiming that the rapper sampled her song after she denied his request to do so because of his past antisemitic and racist remarks.
Merton — best known for her 2017 hit song “No Roots” — is accusing the “Graduation” rapper of the “unauthorized commercial exploitation” of her song “Blindside,” which she wrote and recorded in 2022. The musician, who lives in the United Kingdom, claimed in her lawsuit that Ye knowingly used an “unauthorized sample” of her song on his track “Gun to My Head,” which also features Ty Dolla $ign and Kid Cudi.
In August 2024, Ye released a digital deluxe edition of his album “Vultures 2” on his website and it featured the original tracklist on “Vultures 2” as well as new songs, including “Gun to My Head.” The song features Merton’s vocals singing the line, “I sat down with a gun to my head,” which is the opening line of “Blindside.” Ye’s song also replays a phrase from “Blindside” throughout majority of the tune, according to Merton’s lawsuit.
Prior to its official release, Ye previewed “Gun to My Head” at a “Vultures” listening party in Florida in December 2023. In her lawsuit, Merton said she was “understandably shocked and humiliated” when she learned that Ye previewed “Gun to My Head,” featuring an unauthorized sample of “Blindside,” at the listening event. There were also false claims circulating online that Merton had collaborated on the track with Ye, according to the lawsuit.
Merton claimed that only two months later, in February 2024, Ye (by way of the clearance company Alien Music Services) reached out to her rights management company BMG, requesting to use a sample of “Blindside.” She rejected his request in March and did not originally give a reason. Merton said that when representatives for BMG asked why she denied the request, she responded that “the artist’s values are contrary to our values.”
“Alice Merton was unwilling to compromise her personal beliefs and wanted not to be associated with [Ye] in any manner,” the filing stated. It also mentioned that Merton was significantly concerned about Ye’s “antisemitic, racist remarks which were made publicly and continue to be made publicly.”
In February, Ye was dropped by his talent agency 33 & West because of his “harmful and hateful remarks,” which include voicing support for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, Nazis in general, and making numerous antisemitic remarks about Jews. That same month he tried to sell a shirt on his website, Yeezy.com, that features the swastika hate symbol. A former Jewish Yeezy employee recently filed a lawsuit against the rapper for discrimination, claiming that he threatened her because she was Jewish and that he compared himself to Hitler. Ye’s previous antisemitic remarks resulted in him losing brand partnership deals with Adidas and Balenciaga, among others.
“Merton is a German resident who has close ties to the Holocaust through Jewish family members who survived its horrors, and as such feels closely connected to it,” the lawsuit read. It further stated that she is “the direct descendant of Holocaust survivors.”
The German musician claimed that when “Gun to My Head” was not included on the original “Vultures” album, Ye’s fans were “outraged” and “relentless,” and even sent her threats if she would not clear the sample. They “blamed Merton for not authorizing” the sample and “began contacting her directly.” Following the alleged threats, Merton feared returning to America for further tour dates and stopped performing the song at concerts “for fear of confrontation or potential violence against her.”
“In addition to the negative association with Ye that plaintiffs were attempting to avoid, plaintiff Merton began receiving death threats and abuse from defendants’ fan base online because she would not clear the sample. Defendant did nothing to stop the abuse, allowing his fans to intimidate and harass plaintiff Merton and failing to acknowledge that plaintiffs had rejected defendant’s request to use plaintiff’s song,” the lawsuit stated.
BMG sent a cease and desist letter to Ye in August 2024, demanding that he refrain from any further copyright violation. He did not respond to the letter, according to Merton’s lawsuit. She is seeking “injunctive relief” and unspecified damages for the alleged “copyright infringement and unfair competition.” She is also calling for a trial by jury “on all issues so triable.”
Ye has been sued at least 14 times for his unauthorized use of samples in his music since 2008, according to Menton’s lawsuit.
Last year, heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne threatened to sue Ye for sampling the Black Sabbath song “Iron Man” after the British musician refused permission because the rapper “is an antisemite and has caused untold heartache to many.” Also last year, Donna Summer’s estate sued Ye for sampling her 1977 song “I Feel Love” without permission on his song “Good (Don’t Die),” which was included on “Vultures 1.” Summer’s estate said they “wanted no association” with the rapper.
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US Issues Iran-Related Sanctions Against China, UAE-Based Entities
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, Jan. 20, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on entities and individuals in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and China whom it accused of being part of an Iranian weapons procurement network, as President Donald Trump seeks to ramp up pressure on Tehran.
The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on six entities and two individuals in action taken in coordination with the Department of Justice, accusing them of responsibility for procurement of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) components on behalf of a leading manufacturer for Iran‘s drone program.
“Iran’s proliferation of UAVs and missiles – both to its terrorist proxies in the region and to Russia for its use against Ukraine – continues to threaten civilians, US personnel, and our allies and partners,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“Treasury will continue to disrupt Iran’s military-industrial complex and its proliferation of UAVs, missiles, and conventional weapons that often end up in the hands of destabilizing actors, including terrorist proxies.”
Iran‘s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tuesday’s action targeted one Iranian-based entity and two people based in Iran, one entity based in China, and four UAE–based entities, according to the Treasury statement.
The Treasury said it was the second round of sanctions targeting “Iranian weapons proliferators” since Trump restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, which includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to help prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Trump’s February memo, among other things, ordered Bessent to impose “maximum pressure” on Iran, including sanctions and enforcement mechanisms on those violating existing sanctions.
Trump threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.
In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed temporary limits on Tehran’s uranium enrichment activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions.
Since then, Iran has far surpassed that deal’s limits on uranium enrichment.
Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian power purposes.
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Gaza Protests: A Turning Point or a Moment of Desperation?
Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
The people of Gaza are protesting — and that’s a good thing.
After nearly 18 months of destruction, in which entire neighborhoods have been leveled, infrastructure shattered, and thousands of lives and countless livelihoods lost, Gazans have finally found their voice in opposition to the leadership that brought them to this point. Their protests are directed at Hamas, the rulers who have led them into this disaster.
But we must be clear about what they are not protesting.
Many are not protesting the atrocities committed by Hamas and Gazan civilians on October 7, or the relentless rocket fire aimed at Israeli civilians for over two decades (since Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza in 2005). And there is currently no reason to believe that they are suddenly embracing values of peace, coexistence, and democracy.
On October 7, 2023, as Israel suffered the deadliest terror attack in its history – where men, women, and children were brutally murdered, tortured, and raped. In the streets of Gaza, these acts were celebrated.
But these were not acts of “resistance” — they were displays of unfiltered raw hatred, a hatred nurtured over generations, partly by the UN-funded schools operated by UNRWA.
And just recently, as hostages were released in macabre ceremonies, there were large crowds cheering as their misery was beamed live across the world, as if it was some kind of twisted victory celebration. No widespread protests then. No empathy for the innocent, grossly abused hostages. No disgust for what had been done to them.
The international community, including countries like Australia, has inadvertently contributed to this cycle.
Today, it appears that many Gazans are protesting not out of a moral change of heart, but out of sheer desperation. Perhaps some are realizing the harsh truth: when you initiate a war with the explicit goal of eradicating another nation and you fail, consequences follow.
This is not to say that all Gazans support Hamas or bear equal responsibility for its actions and perhaps. However, history shows that the prevailing sentiment in Gaza has not been one favoring peace.
There is also a glaring irony here. These protests against Hamas are only happening now because Israel has resumed its military campaign against the terror group after its refusal to release more hostages. If much of the world had its way, Israel would be expected to halt its operations, leaving Hamas in power and allowing the hostage crisis to continue indefinitely.
If those who claim to care about Palestinian civilians truly want to help, they should be calling for Hamas’ downfall and pursuing this end in a realistic and serious way. Simply saying Hamas should no longer rule Gaza while opposing all Israeli efforts to topple them is not statecraft but make-believe.
The same can be said of the belief that moving rapidly to establish a Palestinian state after the war is the solution to the Gaza problem, or the road to peace.
This fantastical belief ignores the reality that Gaza effectively was an independent Palestinian state in all but name since 2005 — and look where that lead to.
Hamas devoted all Gaza’s resources — including international aid — to turning every neighborhood into a terror base and to attacking Israel, leading to war after war, and eventually October 7.
And Hamas has endlessly indoctrinated the millions of Gaza citizens with endless hatred, antisemitism, and support for terrorism and “martyrdom”. Thus, the horrific scenes of October 7, when Gaza civilians both celebrated the slaughter of innocent people and partook in the atrocities, is almost certainly more representative of the radicalized Gaza population than the small protests we have seen.
The people of Gaza are protesting — and that’s undoubtedly a good sign, but that’s not a reason to forget the enormous amount that still needs to be done, in terms not only of removing Hamas from power, but demilitarization and deradicalization of the population and the implementation of a stable government before there can be any realistic prospect of peace and coexistence.
Justin Amler is a policy analyst at the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).
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Why Are Pro-Hamas Students and Protestors Being Turned Into Victims?
A pro-Palestinian protester holds a sign that reads, “Faculty for justice in Palestine,” during a protest urging Columbia University to cut ties with Israel, Nov. 15, 2023, in New York City. Photo: Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Last week, Columbia’s interim president resigned after eight turbulent days since she accepted conditions given by President Trump to receive approximately $400 millions in Federal funds.
A few days after agreeing to the deal, however, it was clear that she either didn’t intend to fully honor it — or that she was trying to pacify both sides. She resigned (or was forced to do so) when it became clear that one cannot sit on two chairs. Perhaps she realized that she and Columbia University were not poised to accept Trump’s demands to cancel the withdrawal of Federal funds after all.
The most recent events on Columbia’s campus indicate that the university did not just cave in to the anti-Israel mob, but that a significant number of faculty and students are the mob.
Certain professors urged pro-Palestinian students to skip classes and wear Hamas style-masks in protest to Columbia accepting Trump’s conditions. Columbia’s news president will be Claire Shipman, a journalist who was a member of Columbia’s Board of Trustees for many years and became its co-chair in 2023. Is she going to implement the requirements needed to restore Federal funding to Columbia? I doubt it, as I did not get the impression that the Board of Trustees was truly ready to accommodate Trump’s demands.
Mainstream media outlets have claimed that the requirements imposed by the Trump administration are ways to limit academic freedom, free speech, independent scholarship of Middle Eastern studies, and more.
Somehow the media omitted several major things that have been happening on campus, such as: incitement of violence, support of terrorism, destruction of property — and, perhaps most importantly, denial of civil rights to Jewish students and faculty through harassment, intimidation, and denial of access to Columbia’s (and Barnard’s) campus.
Progressives and other Americans are lamenting the suppression of free speech at rallies supporting a major terrorist group (Hamas), which the organizers claim were peaceful, when they actually weren’t. These students are complaining that they are afraid to even come to campus now.
Apparently, it did not occur to them that their actions had the same effect on Jewish students — or it did occur to them, but the Jews deserved it because, after all, they are white supremacists and settler-colonialists.
What struck me as perhaps the most dangerous step was transforming pro-Hamas and violent rioters to victims who are suffering under Trump and Marco Rubio’s actions. It is the same method used and perpetuated by Palestinians since Israel was founded in 1948 — and the same inversion that blames Israel (the victim of October 7) for launching a defensive war in Gaza to prevent such an atrocity from ever happening again.
And yet many gullible journalists, intellectuals, university professors — and also quite a few Jews — believe and help propagate these lies.
These protesters have well organized system of lawyers who standby to file a lawsuit against the US government — and a well-coordinated media network to get out their talking points. (And don’t forget, many of these progressive protests featured materials that claimed to be from the “Hamas Media Office.”)
Some foreign students want to support terrorist organizations — and also call for violence and other actions against the West. Is it any surprise that they may have violated the terms of their academic visas and other programs by doing so?
Now those students and professors who justified the Oct. 7 attack are speaking out against the latest action — but does free speech really have no limits when one is supporting terrorist massacres and terror supporters?
If so. American colleges — and the students they serve — are in serious, serious trouble.
Dr. Jaroslava Halper has been a professor of pathology at The University of Georgia in Athens, GA for many years. She escaped from communist Prague because of antisemitism, and lack of freedom and free speech. The gradual increase of antisemitism and anti-Zionism in certain circles in her second homeland, and the devastating October 7 massacre by Hamas, led her to realize that more active engagement is necessary to combat antisemitism, including anti-Zionism.
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