Donna Summer Estate claims Kanye West sampled music without permission
Donna Summer and Kanye West
Getty ImagesLate Donna Summer's estate accused Kanye West of copyright infringement.
“Kanye West…requested permission to use Donna Summer's song 'I Feel Love' but was denied,” read a statement on Summer's official Instagram Story on Saturday, February 10. “He changed the words, had someone sing it again or used AI, but it's 'I Feel Love.'”
The legendary disco star's team concluded: “Copyright infringement!”
They tagged the official accounts of West, 46 Ty Dolla signWarner Chappell Music, Universal Music Group and Sharon Osbourne in her message. West reportedly used an interpolation of Summer's “I Feel Love” on one of his new songs. Her estate remains responsible for her art following her death in 2012 at the age of 63 due to lung cancer.
Sharon, 71, and husband Ozzy Osbourne shared similar complaints just hours earlier.
“@kanyewest REQUESTED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE PART OF A LIVE PERFORMANCE OF 1983 American FESTIVAL'S 'WAR PIG' WITHOUT SINGING AND WAS DENIED PERMISSION BECAUSE HE IS AN ANTI-SEMITE AND HAS CAUSED UNMENTIONED HORRIBLE TO MANY,” Ozzy, 75, wrote, via X on Friday, referencing the Black Sabbath song. “HE WENT ON AND USED THE EXAMPLE ANYWAY LAST NIGHT AT HIS ALBUM LISTENING PARTY. I DO NOT WANT AN ASSOCIATION WITH THIS MAN!”
West and Ty Dolla Sign's new album, Vultures, fell on Friday, February 9, after an official listening party a day earlier in Chicago. Neither rapper has publicly addressed the complaints. We weekly has requested comment.
Donna Summer
Courtesy of Donna Summer/InstagramSharon further claimed that West, “true to form,” went ahead and used the “War Pigs” sample despite being denied permission.
“The Osbourne family has never wanted any association with Kanye West,” Sharon wrote via X on Saturday. “He's an anti-Semitic fool spewing his rhetoric to the world, Kanye, you flirted with the wrong guy this time. Kind regards, Sharon Osbourne.”
In 2022, West made headlines for sharing anti-Semitic comments on Instagram and X, which got him temporarily banned from the social media platforms. While West eventually apologized for his comments, he lost several million dollars in brand deals.
Kanye West continues to be dropped by major brands as the backlash against his anti-Semitic comments grows. The “Famous” artist made headlines on October 8 after he tweeted: “I'm a little sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going to die. [sic] About JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is that I actually can't be […]
West's ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, condemned his comments. (The rapper and Kardashian, 43, split in 2021 and their divorce was finalized a year later.)
“I feel so bad for him. I don't even think he feels bad for himself. I don't even know if he knows how. I just feel so bad. He'll probably go after me [if I reach out],” Kardashian said in a July 2023 episode of her Hulu docuseries of the same name. “But then I feel guilty that I posted something in support of the Jewish community and then people dropped it today and I'm like, 'Is that my fault for posting that?' Did that push them and I should have just kept quiet, but I have been vocal about everything else?' I never know what to do.”
She added at the time: “The whole situation is sad and I don't know how to deal with it emotionally. I have a conflict because I never want that [to] jump in and be part of the downfall of the father of my children.”
Kardashian and West have continued to raise children North, 10, Saint, 8, Chicago, 6, and Psalm, 4, since their divorce. West also moved on and got married Bianca Censori December 2022.