On Thursday, Oct 9, 2025, federal Judge, Jeannette Vargas dismissed Drake’s lawsuit filed against Universal Music Group (UMG) for promoting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.”
Drake’s defamation lawsuit, filed in January, accused his record label, UMG, of heavily promoting Kendrick Lamar’s diss track ‘Not Like Us’, which contained lyrics suggesting he is a “certified pedophile.” He alleged that UMG made payments to Spotify to spread the false narrative and boost the song’s reach, in order to sabotage his pending $500 million contract talks with the label.
However, the district judge ruled in favour of UMG, stating that the label was not responsible for promoting the song and that the lyrics in the song constituted expressions of opinion, not factual assertions and therefore cannot be rendered as defamatory.
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“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,” the judgment states. “The offensive accusations hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable facts about Drake .In light of the overall context in which the statements in the recording were made, the court holds that it cannot.”
UMG, which had filed a motion to dismiss in March, stated that the suit against them should not have been filed in the first place, and they still look forward to working with Drake.
“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 spokesperson for Drake noted that the rapper intends to appeal the ruling and will pursue a review with the Court of Appeals.
Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s lyrical feud took place last year, with both rappers releasing diss tracks aimed at each other. However, “Not Like Us” sparked a legal battle, as Drake, who is signed to Republic Records, accused UMG of damaging his reputation by distributing and promoting the song. Notably, both artists operate under the Universal Music Group umbrella through separate labels, with Lamar signed to Interscope Records.
Kendrick Lamar is however not a person of interest as purported by fans and critics. UMG is the rapper’s main focus.