Joyner Lucas has clapped back (and shown alleged receipts) after DJ Vlad filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit against the rapper after he allegedly reposted a VladTV interview clip without permission.
On Friday, Lucas shared screenshots of Vlad (or a member or his staff) repeatedly asking for an interview with the rapper. The premise of the messages was that Vlad offered to drop the lawsuit if Lucas agreed to a VladTV interview. Negotiations reportedly fell apart after Lucas’s manager, Dhruv Joshi, sent an expletive-filled message from the rapper’s phone rejecting the offer. The message made it clear that Lucas had no intention of participating in an interview or negotiating further, starting that he wouldn’t be “doing an interview with you before in this lifetime and your def not a getting an interview now” and accusing Vlad of trying to extort him for an interview.
The caption read:
“When you get sued Becuz you ain’t wanna do a interview. SMH lame n**** been stalking me for YEARS to go on his weak ass channel and when he finally realized I won’t sit down with his b***h ass because I hate everything about him, he decides he gonna try to extort me out of one instead.. Smh@vladtv YOU GOTTA BE THE B***HEST OF ALL B***H NI**** ALIVE. You wanted clout so bad so here’s your clout… [clown emoji] hoe.”
Vlad (real name Vlad Lyubovny) and Hot In Here, Inc., the parent company of VladTV are seeking up to $150,000 in statutory damages, coverage of legal fees, and a permanent injunction preventing Lucas from sharing VladTV content in the future. The lawsuit claims Lucas uploaded a five-minute segment from a VladTV interview featuring comedian Aries Spears mocking British rappers to his X (formerly Twitter) account on July 6. Vlad alleges that Lucas cropped out the VladTV watermark and failed to credit the source. The video reportedly went viral, reaching over 4.4 million views, 20,000 likes, and thousands of reposts before it was removed following a DMCA takedown.
Vlad’s legal team asserts that Lucas deliberately used the copyrighted material to increase his social media engagement and promote his brand, even encouraging fans to share the video further.
Hot In Here, Inc. is now pursuing damages and legal action to block any future use of its copyrighted material.