Kanye West Sued By Photographer Nearly 1 Year After Using Her Photo To Diss Gabriella Karefa-Johnson

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Michaela Efford is seeking unspecified damages from Ye over his unverified use of her photo during an Instagram firestorm last fall.

2022 saw a side of Kanye West that caused many former friends and collaborators to denounce the rapper. From his troubling comments about the Jewish community to wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt at Paris Fashion Week, the 46-year-old wasn't shy about publicly aligning himself with controversial ways of thinking. The latter statement caught the attention of Vogue editor, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, who labelled Ye as "dangerous" and "irresponsible" for promoting such messages.

At the time, the "Stronger" rapper was often using platforms like Instagram to send out hateful messages. Unsurprisingly, Johnson's thinkpiece about his outfit earned her a diss post from West, who declared that Johnson "is not a fashion person." The Yeezy founder further wrote, "You speak on Ye I'mma speak on you. Ask Trevor Noah." In the months since they've both seemingly moved on from the beef. However, the photographer who took the photo of Gabriella that Ye used is now taking legal action against him.

Read More: Kanye West Sued By Another Former Donda Academy Teacher

Kanye West's Legal Woes Worsen

Kanye West aka Ye is seen on October 28, 2022, in Los Angeles, California (Photo by MEGA/GC Images)

According to TMZ, Michaela Efford has confirmed that she didn't give the multi-talent permission to use her image on his social media. The photographer captured the snapshot in September of last year, and approximately one week later it appeared on West's IG for his millions of followers to see. Efford claims that Ye's use of her image has harmed her ability to successfully market and make money from it. As a result, she's seeking unspecified damages from the embattled star.

That's not the only legal action he's facing at this time either. Just last week, a third teacher from his Donda Academy school sued the Chicago native as well. Elsewhere in the news, Kanye West's DONDA documentary has leaked online, and it contains some seriously heated moments. Among them is the father of four's threats to boot Jay-Z off of his tribute album to his late mother, which ultimately didn't end up happening. Read more about the controversial film at the link below, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.

Read More: Kanye West “DONDA” Documentary Leaks Online

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About The Author
Hayley Hynes
Hayley Hynes is the former Weekend Managing Editor of HotNewHipHop, she stepped down after two years in 2024 to pursue other creative opportunities but remains on staff part-time to cover music, gossip, and pop culture news. Currently, she contributes similar content on Blavity and 21Ninety, as well as on her personal blog where she also offers tarot/astrology services. Hayley resides on the western side of Canada, previously spending a year in Vancouver to study Fashion Marketing at Blanche Macdonald Centre and Journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary before that. She's passionate about helping others heal through storytelling, and shares much more about her life on Instagram @hayleyhynes.
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