Kanye West sued by photographer for allegedly using photo without permission to criticize Vogue editor

Kanye West has run into legal trouble after sharing a photo of a Vogue editor mocking her.

The 46-year-old rapper is being sued by photographer Michaela Efford, who says West used a photo of her without paying or otherwise obtaining permission to use it, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.

She had snapped a photo of fashion writer and Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, which West — who recently appeared to put his feud with Ice Cube to bed — shared on his Instagram to make fun of her outfit.

The social media diatribe was apparently sparked by Karefa-Johnson criticizing West for styling models — and himself — in a T-shirt that reads “White Lives Matter.”

At the time, she described the shirt and the show it was featured on as “indefensible behavior” in her Instagram Stories.

Punching: Efford says West posted her photo of Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson to mock her clothes after she criticized his “White Lives Matter” T-shirts; seen in September in Paris

She later admitted that the rapper may have intended the shirts and his runway show to be an act of pressing buttons inspired by Marcel Duchamp, but she didn’t think it was successful at all.

“It didn’t land and it was very offensive, violent and dangerous,” she later wrote.

However, the measured criticism did not sit well with West, and he attempted to mock Karefa-Johnson’s looks, fashion sense, and possibly even her professional qualifications.

‘This is not a fashion person. You speak on Ye Ima speak on you Ask Trevor Noah,” the Monster rapper captioned an Instagram photo of the writer that Efford reportedly owns the copyright to.

In her filing, she wrote that she took Karefa-Johnson’s photo in September 2022 and that West didn’t post it until about a week later.

His post came amid a string of offensive messages, including the “White Lives Matter” shirts, which many commentators deemed racist.

The Paris Fashion Week show with the shirts also featured right-wing Candace Owens, who, like West, wore one of the shirts.

He then shared multiple anti-Semitic statements, which led to the cancellation of deals he had with Gap and Balenciaga, as well as the abrupt end of his highly lucrative Yeezy deal with Adidas.

Below the belt, “This is not a fashion person,” he wrote while sharing Karefa-Johnson’s photo. Efford has said his post made it difficult for her to license the photo, and she is seeking unspecified damages; seen in October 2022 in Paris

Can’t take criticism? West lashed out at Karefa-Johnson for saying his Yeezy show “didn’t land” and was “deeply offensive, violent and dangerous”; seen in September in Paris

One of Efford’s complaints in her filing is that West’s Instagram post made it difficult for her to market or license Karefa-Johnson’s photo.

She is seeking an undisclosed amount in damages.

While West had drawn criticism for many of the outlandish posts and statements he made leading up to his fashion show, his criticism of Karefa-Johnson was a bridge too far for many, as he has far more influence and fame than them.

“You wish you had a percentage of her intellect,” her friend Gigi Hadid wrote in response to one of Ye’s posts. She added that he was “a bully and a joke.”