The filmmakers behind the Kanye West Jeen-Yuhs documentary on Netflix are embroiled in a lawsuit over the use of footage of a woman who appears in Ye’s “Through the Wire” video.
Cynthia Love filed a lawsuit against Jeen-Yuhs directors Chike Ozah and Clarence “Coodie” Simmons on Monday (April 17), according to court documents obtained by XXL on Tuesday (April 18). The lawsuit says Love initially filed a complaint against the two men along with Netflix on Jan. 31 in circuit court in Cook County, Ill. The complaint alleges, “Mr. Simmons and Mr. Ozah produced a 2003 music video for Kanye West’s song ‘Through the Wire’ that used unflattering video footage of” Love.
The complaint goes on to say the video depicts Love, who appears at the beginning of the “Through the Wire” visual dancing in a restaurant, as “intoxicated, drunk and/or stoned, addicted and/or living in an addiction-fueled lifestyle.” She has since made a “miraculous transformation,” according to the complaint, making the footage now “defamatory.” Love claims she never even consented to the use of her image in the 2003 video or the 2022 documentary that the footage showed up in again.
Love’s claims include defamation per se, defamation per quod, false light, unlawful publicity, infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy, quantum merit (pled in the alternative) and unjust enrichment. She is seeking $540,000 in damages and court fees, according court documents.
XXL has reached out to Chike Ozah and Clarence Simmons’ attorney for comment.
“Through the Wire” was Kanye West’s breakout single and was the first time many people heard the producer on wax as a solo rap artist. Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy was released exclusively on Netflix last February and chronicled Ye’s rise to fame via candid videos recorded by Ozah and Simmons through the years.
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