Drake escalated his legal battle with Universal Music Group (UMG) on Wednesday, filing a defamation and harassment lawsuit accusing the label of spreading a “false and malicious narrative” that he is a pedophile. The allegations stem from Kendrick Lamar’s diss track, “Not Like Us,” which Drake claims UMG promoted with the intent to defame him, according to The New York Times and other outlets.
The lawsuit alleges UMG “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit” out of the track, which topped U.S. on-demand audio and video streaming charts in 2024. The suit further states the song was designed to convey “the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile” and encouraged “vigilante justice.”
This legal action follows Drake’s November filing of pre-action petitions against UMG and Spotify, accusing them of engaging in an illegal “scheme” involving bots, payola, and other tactics to boost the popularity of Lamar’s diss track. Those earlier filings were intended to gather evidence for potential lawsuits. Those have since been dropped.
An attorney for Drake did not immediately respond to a request for comment. UMG declined to comment, and a representative for Spotify did not immediately return a request for comment.