Donna Summer's Estate Files Lawsuit Against Ye

A copyright infringement lawsuit has been filed against Ye and Ty Dolla $ign by the estate of Donna Summer who accused the music producer of using her song, “I Feel Love” without permission.

According to CBS News, the latest album by the two recording artists, “Vultures 1,” which was released on Feb. 10, included an illegal use of the 1977 song that they incorporated into their song, “Good (Don’t Die).” The legal paperwork was filed by Summer’s husband Bruce Sudano, who is the executor of her estate. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Feb. 27.

The suit claims that the song “shamelessly” includes re-recorded parts of “I Feel Love’ that were “instantly recognizable.” Ye’s representatives purportedly asked for permission to use the song for the project but were rejected because the Summer estate “wanted no association with West’s controversial history.”

Yet, even after being denied, Ye placed the recording on the album.

“In the face of this rejection,” the lawsuit states, “defendants arrogantly and unilaterally decided they would simply steal ‘I Feel Love’ and use it without permission.”

Reuters reported that the Summer estate expressly stated that it rejected the request on Feb. 3. Yet, it still appeared on the album release a week later.

“The Summer Estate not only considered the immense commercial value of the ‘I Feel Love’ composition, but also the potential degradation to Summer’s legacy,” the complaint said. “West is known as a controversial public figure whose conduct has led numerous brands and business partners to disassociate from him.”

The estate placed a post on X stating that Ye was denied use of the song and that another voice or possibly A.I. recorded the vocals for their song.

Donna Summer’s estate says Kanye West used her song ‘I Feel Love’ for his new album after being denied permission:
“He was denied, he changed the words, had someone re-sing it or used AI” pic.twitter.com/3rk9Y5hHap
— Pop Base (@PopBase) February 10, 2024

The estate was not the only recording artist to call Ye out for unauthorized use of a recording. Black Sabbath frontman Osbourne also posted his gripe to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter to call out Ye for using a sample of the 1970 track “Iron Man” despite being “refused permission because he is an antisemite.”

. @KANYEWEST ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A SECTION OF A 1983 LIVE PERFORMANCE OF “IRON MAN” FROM THE US FESTIVAL WITHOUT VOCALS & WAS REFUSED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTISEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNTOLD HEARTACHE TO MANY. HE WENT AHEAD AND USED THE SAMPLE ANYWAY AT HIS ALBUM…
— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) February 9, 2024