Drake has lost his defamation suit against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” with a federal judge ruling that the allegedly defamatory statements in the hit diss track qualify as “nonactionable opinion.”
In a ruling published Thursday, Oct. 9, Judge Jeannette A. Vargas stated: “The issue in this case is whether ‘Not Like Us’ can reasonably be understood to convey as a factual matter that Drake is a pedophile or that he has engaged in sexual relations with minors. In light of the overall context in which the statements in the Recording were made, the Court holds that it cannot.”
In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, a UMG spokesperson said, “From the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day. We’re pleased with the court’s dismissal and look forward to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake’s music and investing in his career.”
A rep for Drake did not immediately return a request for comment.
Drake filed his lawsuit in January, alleging that “Not Like Us” was “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile.” Notably, however, the rapper chose to sue UMG — which also releases Drake’s music — rather than Lamar directly.
He claimed the label defamed him by using “every weapon in its arsenal” to turn “Not Like Us” into a hit — including allegedly seeding it with fake bot streams — because it “understood” that the song’s “inflammatory and shocking allegations were a gold mine.” UMG denied the allegations and moved to dismiss the suit.
In tossing the suit, Judge Vargas compared rap diss tracks to forums like YouTube and X where people are able to spout off, as opposed to anything resembling journalistic reporting or straight news. “The average listener is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of a thoughtful or disinterested investigation, conveying to the public fact-checked verifiable content,” she wrote.
She also said the defamation claims needed to be examined within the context of the specific Drake-Kendrick rap battle, “in which both participants exchanged progressively caustic, inflammatory insults and accusations.” Judge Vargas even cited the song Drake released before “Not Like Us,” “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which contained an AI-generated Tupac voice trying to goad Lamar into talking about Drake “liking young girls.”
While Drake tried to argue that “Not Like Us” should be considered as a single entity, Judge Vargas rejected this notion, saying it “must be placed in its appropriate factual context.” She wrote that Lamar’s lines — such as, “Say Drake, I hear you like ‘em young” — “must be assessed” in relation to “Taylor Made Freestyle,” stating, “The similarity in the wording suggests strongly that this line is a direct callback to Drake’s lyrics in the prior song.”
The judge also addressed Drake’s allegations that UMG tried to artificially inflate the popularity of “Not Like Us” through fake streams, and found those claims lacking, too. She said Drake’s evidence essentially amounts to “Tweets by individual users and reporting from fans,” and called his “reliance on online comments and reporting insufficient to meet the plausibility standard.”
