Billionaire Kanye West threatens to SUE fan-owned burger joint over use of logos
A family-owned burger restaurant in Australia's Melbourne has been forced to take down its menu and logo after Kanye West's attorneys threatened legal action. Before Wednesday, June 29, College Dropout Burgers in Ivanhoe had a Kanye West theme, with a giant mural of the Grammy-winning musician at the entrance, dishes named in his honor, and album logos imprinted on the buns of their burgers. The store's name also made a reference to College Dropout, Kanye West's debut album.
However, the music artist's legal team has now claimed that the owner used the material without their consent and threatened legal action if it was not taken down. The music star's legal team threatened to sue the restaurant if the mural was not destroyed, so the family-owned burger joint stated that it was taking down its signs and painting over the artwork. Some of the burgers honoring West were ‘Heartless,’ ‘Gold Digger,’ and ‘Zingers in Paris.’ West responded by filing a lawsuit against owner Mark Elkhouri after reportedly stalking the burger joint on Instagram for months. Elkhouri said that he had only ever intended to honor West by borrowing his work, and he had thought that the star’s following them on Instagram was just a way of saying thanks. However, the burger maker quickly found himself in trouble with West's legal team.
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Elkhouri, who left school himself, wants to keep the name of the business and rename his burgers in honor of other well-known college dropouts, such as Quentin Tarantino, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates. He hasn't questioned West's loyalty, though, and has spoken to 7 News Australia about how the rapper saved his life and his significant role in society at a time when mental health disorders are on the rise. Elkhouri said, “I was so committed to wanting to push this narrative out there of how important Kanye West is to society. We need that more than ever with issues in mental health, and Kanye talking about his own mental health out there. I myself suffered from the depression years ago, so there are ways in saying, well, Kanye actually saved my life. I hope people go and see his music catalog – revisit it, check it out again and try and see the same inspiration that I see. Maybe it might work for them.”
Despite having to change the direction of his business, Elkhouri has no intention of holding resentment toward the rapper. When asked if naming burgers after West's rap competitor Drake may be a good answer, the store owner reaffirmed his support for the former. He said, “I’m just going to have to say this is what it is, and move on, move forward."
"When Kanye and Drake were beefing, I was on Kanye’s side the whole time. I told all my staff I’d refuse to play any Drake songs during that whole process. I am a true Kanye fan, and if you know Kanye fans, we’re very outrageous in some ways and loyal. If Kanye West is going through a divorce with Kim Kardashian, well, so are we. We don’t appreciate people talking negatively about Kanye West," the restaurant owner added.