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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.
The post German Singer Sues Kanye West for Copyright Infringement Related to His Antisemitic, Racist Remarks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Security Warning to Israelis Vacationing Abroad Ahead of holidays
A passenger arrives to a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) published the latest threat assessment to Israelis abroad from terrorist groups to the public on Sunday, in order to increase the Israeli public’s awareness of the existing terrorist threats around the world and encourage individuals to take preventive action accordingly.
The NSC specified that the warning is an up-to-date reflection of the main trends in the activities of terrorist groups around the world and their impact on the level of threat posed to Israelis abroad during these times, but the travel warnings and restrictions themselves are not new.
“As the Gaza war continues and in parallel with the increasing threat of terrorism, the National Security Headquarters stated it has recognized a trend of worsening and increasing violent antisemitic incidents and escalating steps by anti-Israel groups, to the point of physically harming Israelis and Jews abroad. This is in light of, among other things, the anti-Israel narrative and the negative media campaign by pro-Palestinian elements — a trend that may encourage and motivate extremist elements to carry out terrorist activities against Israelis or Jews abroad,” the statement read.
“Therefore, the National Security Bureau is reinforcing its recommendation to the Israeli public to act with responsibility during this time when traveling abroad, to check the status of the National Security Bureau’s travel warnings (before purchasing tickets to the destination,) and to act in accordance with the travel warning recommendations and the level of risk in the country they are visiting,” it listed, adding that, as illustrated in the past year, these warnings are well-founded and reflect a tangible and valid threat potential.
The statement also emphasized the risk of sharing content on social media networks indicating current or past service in the Israeli security forces, as these posts increase the risk of being marked by various parties as a target. “Therefore, the National Security Council recommends that you do not upload to social networks, in any way, content that indicates service in the security forces, operational activity, or similar content, as well as real-time locations.”
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Israel Intensifies Gaza City Bombing as Rubio Arrives
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip September 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Israeli forces destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City and forced thousands of people from their homes, Palestinian officials said, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived on Sunday to discuss the future of the conflict.
Israel has said it plans to seize the city, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering, as part of its declared aim of eliminating the terrorist group Hamas, and has intensified attacks on what it has called Hamas’ last bastion.
The group’s political leadership, which has engaged in on-and-off negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal, was targeted by Israel in an airstrike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.
Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday to discuss the next moves. Rubio said Washington wanted to talk about how to free the 48 hostages – of whom 20 are believed to be still alive – still held by Hamas in Gaza and rebuild the coastal strip.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them (the Israeli leadership). We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” Rubio said before heading to Israel where he will stay until Tuesday.
ABRAHAM ACCORDS AT RISK
He was expected to visit the Western Wall Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem on Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hold talks with him during the visit.
US officials described Tuesday’s strike on the territory of a close US ally as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests. Rubio and US President Donald Trump both met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Friday.
Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state – a move the United Arab Emirates warned would undermine the US-brokered Abraham accords that normalized UAE relations with Israel.
Israel, which blocked all food from entering Gaza for 11 weeks earlier this year, has been allowing more aid into the enclave since late July to prevent further food shortages, though the United Nations says far more is needed.
It says it wants civilians to leave Gaza City before it sends more ground forces in. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have left but hundreds of thousands remain in the area. Hamas has called on people not to leave.
Israeli army forces have been operating inside at least four eastern suburbs for weeks, turning most of at least three of them into wastelands. It is closing in on the center and the western areas of the territory, where most of the displaced people are taking shelter.
Many are reluctant to leave, saying there is not enough space or safety in the south, where Israel has told them to go to what it has designated as a humanitarian zone.
Some say they cannot afford to leave while others say they were hoping the Arab leaders meeting on Monday in Qatar would pressure Israel to scrap its planned offensive.
“The bombardment intensified everywhere and we took down the tents, more than twenty families, we do not know where to go,” said Musbah Al-Kafarna, displaced in Gaza City.
Israel said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City over the past week, targeting more than 500 sites, including Hamas reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.
Local officials, who do not distinguish between militant and civilian casualties, say at least 40 people were killed by Israeli fire across the enclave, a least 28 in Gaza City alone.
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Turkey Warns of Escalation as Israel Expands Strikes Beyond Gaza
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not seen) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
i24 News – An Israeli strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar has sparked unease among several Middle Eastern countries that host leaders of the group, with Turkey among the most alarmed.
Officials in Ankara are increasingly worried about how far Israel might go in pursuing those it holds responsible for the October 7 attacks.
Israel’s prime minister effectively acknowledged that the Qatar operation failed to eliminate the Hamas leadership, while stressing the broader point the strike was meant to make: “They enjoy no immunity,” the government said.
On X, Prime Minister Netanyahu went further, writing that “the elimination of Hamas leaders would put an end to the war.”
A senior Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, summed up Ankara’s reaction: “The attack in Qatar showed that the Israeli government is ready to do anything.”
Legally and diplomatically, Turkey occupies a delicate position. As a NATO member, any military operation or targeted killing on its soil could inflame tensions within the alliance and challenge mutual security commitments.
Analysts caution, however, that Israel could opt for covert measures, operations carried out without public acknowledgement, a prospect that has increased anxiety in governments across the region.
Israeli officials remain defiant. In an interview with Ynet, Minister Ze’ev Elkin said: “As long as we have not stopped them, we will pursue them everywhere in the world and settle our accounts with them.” The episode underscores growing fears that efforts to hunt Hamas figures beyond Gaza could widen regional friction and complicate diplomatic relationships.