Photo: Getty Images
Former members of Heaven's Gate, a defunct religious group that was often referred to as a cult, want Lil Uzi Vert to refrain from using their imagery for his Eternal Atake album series.
The Philadelphia native recently debuted the trailer and album cover for Eternal Atake 2 before it drops this Friday. Their visuals and cover art feature the updated logo for EA 2, which appears to resemble the infamous emblem Heaven's Gate used during its 20+ year existence. In an interview Complex published on Wednesday, October 30, former members of Heaven's Gate warned Uzi to "stay away" from their intellectual property.
"Stay away from our Intellectual Property," the unidentified former members said. "Give the Group some respect. And don’t try to offer to buy us off, like last time. We do not want your money, no matter how much it is."
Heaven's Gate was known as a UFO religious group founded in 1974 by Marshall "Do" Applewhite and Bonnie "Ti" Nettles. The founders claimed they were the witnesses of Revelation and inspired hundreds of people to believe that they could transform into aliens and reach heaven a.k.a the "next level" after they die. They gained national attention in 1997 when police in San Diego County, Calif. discovered the bodies of 39 members including Applewhite after they committed a mass suicide in the name of their religion.
The cult's warning comes six years after Heaven's Gate threatened legal action against Uzi for allegedly ripping off their logo for his single "New Patek." The Generation Now artist first attracted the attention of HG when they used a keyhole symbol on the cover art for their 2018 banger. At the time, two remaining members accused Uzi of using the group's logo without permission. They moved forward with legal action and made Uzi switch up the imagery ahead of their original Eternal Atake album.
"It was a distortion and misuse of our IP. We took action and forced him to make changes in the product," the anonymous members said. "We hired a music entertainment lawyer and he took care of working with his people to back away from using our logos, trademarks, copyrights, and imagery in what he finally produced. He still stepped over the line in one circumstance but we got him to give up thinking he could use our IP to push his idea of him being a divine ‘leader’ and motivating his ‘followers’ to leave the planet. We will see if he takes it too far this time."
Lil Uzi Vert's Eternal Atake 2 drops this Friday, November 1. Check out the video for "Uzi The Earthling! (TV Show Theme)" below.