An Australian burger joint is reportedly being forced to rebrand after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Kanye West.
On Thursday (June 30), Australian news outlet West Australia Today reported that local burger joint owner Mark Elkhouri, founder of College Dropout Burgers, has gotten backlash from his idol Kanye West in the form of threatened legal action if he does not rebrand his restaurant. Aside from the title, which is a reference to Ye's debut album, The College Dropout, the restaurant has menu items that allude to Ye songs and LP, such as the Golddigger, a fried chicken burger, the Good Morning breakfast burger and a Cheezus burger.
“It’s pretty hard being a Kanye West fan with this situation, we have to respect his wishes and move forward,” Elkhouri told the paper.
Elkhouri initially thought Kanye West was a fan of his restaurant when the rapper began viewing his Instagram Stories last week. It turns out, Ye might have been gathering evidence.
“The fact he was viewing our [Instagram] Stories and was there had me believe he was a fan of us,” Elkhouri added.
As a result of the threat of legal action, Elkhouri is rebranding and changing the names of his previously Kanye-themed offerings. He is also changing the logo, which was a variation of Kanye's Graduation bear.
“Moving forward, I feel like it is a bit of a blessing in disguise,” Elkhouri said. “Because let’s face it, not everyone is a Kanye West fan.”
He hasn't let the legal situation impact his Kanye West fandom, however.
“I am extremely disappointed. There’s no doubt about that, but it doesn’t even come close to the impact that he’s had on my life,” Elkhouri added.
XXL has reached out to Kanye West's lawyer and his team for comment.
This isn't the first time recently that Kanye West has called out a brand. Earlier this month, he blasted Adidas for allegedly stealing the model of his Yeezy Slide.