Heaven's Gate accuses the rapper of ripping off the cult's colourful Earth and keyhole logo for the cover art of his album.
- August 2, 2018
AceShowbiz - Lil Uzi Vert has been accused of copyright infringement by the remaining members of the notorious Heaven's Gate religious cult.
The rapper revealed the cover of his upcoming album, "Eternal Atake", in a post on Instagram on Tuesday, July 31, with the new record featuring artwork inspired by the colourful Earth and keyhole logo of the cult - which is best known for the mass suicide of its members in 1997.
After the album reveal, a representative of the group told Genius.com: "He is using and adapting our copyrights and trademarks without our permission and the infringement will be taken up with our attorneys. This is not fair use or parody, it it a direct and clear infringement."
The cult was founded in 1974 by Marshall Applewhite, a minister's son who taught his followers they would be saved from a doomed Earth by alien spacecraft.
Applewhite and his followers made headlines around the world when 39 died in a mass suicide brought on by their belief that doing so would allow them to reach an extraterrestrial vessel attached to the Hale-Bopp comet.
According to Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper, two members who left the main cult in the 1980s now maintain the group's website and reply to those contacting them about Heaven's Gate's beliefs.
Lil Uzi, real name Symere Woods, is yet to respond to the legal threats.
