A group of “armed assailants” attacked Drake’s Toronto residence in the middle of the night last May, according to a federal defamation lawsuit filed by the musician against his record label Universal Music Group (UMG). The suit reveals explosive new details about an incident that left a security guard suffering life-threatening injuries.
On May 7, 2024, while the Toronto rapper was at home, a car carrying the assailants pulled up to Drake’s Bridle Path mansion, the suit says. Once the car stopped in front of the residence, someone yelled “f — k Drake” before at least one gunman began to fire shots. The suit claims that one bullet went through the security gate and hit Drake’s front door, while another bullet struck a security guard.
“Drake and others in the house summoned help for the security guard and did everything possible to keep him alive,” the suit says. “During the nearly thirty minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive, Drake and others labored to keep the man alive by applying pressure to the gunshot wound with towels. Blood was everywhere.”
A day later, a second “invader” attempted to break into Drake’s property “by using his bare hands to dig under the security gate,” the suit says. “The invader slid under the fence and entered the property, screaming racist slurs and threats toward Drake. The invader was apprehended by security before making it to the house.”
On May 9, a third trespasser approached Drake’s residence, before getting into a physical altercation with Drake’s security guards. The trespasser was eventually apprehended by the police, the suit states.
Toronto police did not provide further details about the May 7 incident, but confirmed the two subsequent incidents. On May 8, police apprehended a person under the Mental Health Act. On May 9, a trespasser was taken to the hospital after the altercation with a security guard.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, accuses Drake’s record label Universal Music Group (UMG) of defamation and harassment over its release and promotion of Lamar’s blockbuster diss track “Not Like Us.”
Released on May 4, 2024, Lamar’s track “Not Like Us” accused Drake and his associates of pedophilia,. The song reached number one on the Billboard charts and broke several streaming records on Spotify. Its meteoric success was widely considered a knockout punch in the months-long rap feud between Drake and Lamar.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Drake by attorney Michael J. Gottlieb at U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. The court documents describe UMG’s release and promotion of “Not Like Us” as an example of valuing “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists,” and suggests that it may have put Drake’s life at risk.
UMG, the suit reads, “approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track” that was “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile, and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.”
“UMG’s greed yielded real world consequences,” the suit continues, before describing a series of incidents that took place at Drake’s home less than a week after “Not Like Us” was released.
The suit adds that these events caused Drake to fear “for the safety and security of himself, his family, and his friends.” It also states that Drake pulled his son out of the elementary school he attended in Toronto due to safety concerns.
“In the two decades leading up to May of 2024, although Drake was constantly in the public eye, nothing remotely like these events had ever happened to him or his family.” it reads. “But these events were not coincidental. They immediately followed, and were proximately caused by, UMG’s actions leading up to and on May 4, 2024.”
This lawsuit also makes clear that the allegations “are not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us.’ It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false, but dangerous.”
In an email to the Star, a spokesperson for UMG called the claims “untrue” and “illogical.”
“Throughout his career, Drake has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists. He now seeks to weaponize the legal process to silence an artist’s creative expression and to seek damages from UMG for distributing that artist’s music.
We have not and do not engage in defamation — against any individual. At the same time, we will vigorously defend this litigation to protect our people and our reputation, as well as any artist who might directly or indirectly become a frivolous litigation target for having done nothing more than write a song.”
Drake’s publicists did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Kendrick Lamar also did not respond to the Star’s inquiries.
“Not Like Us” arrived in the midst of a headlines-dominating feud that erupted between the two superstar rappers in the spring. The song contains several lines that suggest that both Drake and several of his associates are “pedophiles.”
“Say, Drake, I hear you like ‘em young / You better not ever go to cellblock one,” Lamar raps, before dropping a punchline that refers to Drake’s 2021 album title: “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles.”
The lawsuit also notes the cover art for “Not Like Us,” which featured a photo of Drake’s Toronto mansion covered with several red markers representing the presence of registered sex offenders. The suit argues that the imagery may encourage the public to resort to vigilante justice.
UMG, a multinational music company, is the distributor for the record labels of both Drake and Lamar. In 2022, Drake signed a multi-faceted deal with UMG that was reported to be worth as much as $400 million, making it one of the largest recording contracts ever.
In the lawsuit, Drake’s lawyers claim that there may have been a monetary motive for allowing the release of “Not Like Us,” pointing out that Lamar’s contract with UMG was extended last year, while Drake’s is up for renegotiation this year.
“By devaluing Drake’s music and brand, UMG would gain leverage to force Drake to sign a new deal on terms more favorable to UMG,” it reads.
The explosive lawsuit comes one day after Drake’s legal team withdrew a legal petition accusing UMG and Spotify of artificially inflating the popularity of Kendrick Lamar’s explosive diss track “Not Like Us.”
Filed in a Manhattan court in November, the petition alleged that the record company and the streaming giant used a network of bots, in conjunction with a so-called pay-to-play scheme, to “manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves” with “Not Like Us.”
Drake and his Frozen Moments company withdrew its legal action on Tuesday, according to a notice issued by a New York court. According to the document, which was reviewed by the Star: “Petitioner hereby voluntarily discontinues this special proceeding as to all Respondents without costs to any party.”
The notice also notes that Drake’s representatives “met and conferred” with the respondents to the legal action in January. Spotify, which filed an opposition to the petition, responded that it had no objection to the withdrawal. Meanwhile, UMG, which had not filed an opposition to the petition, “reserved its position.”
Known as a preaction submission, Drake’s original legal action was not technically a lawsuit, but a petition for documents in preparation for a potential lawsuit filing.
In December, UMG called Drake’s earlier legal action “offensive and untrue.” In a statement provided to the Star, a spokesperson for the record company wrote: We employ the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this preaction submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear.”
Drake launched a second legal action against UMG in November, accusing the record label of defamation and claiming it could have halted the release of a song “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender.” That petition remains active.
The Toronto rapper has been relatively quiet in the fallout of his headlines-dominating feud with Lamar. He hasn’t released an official single since May, but in early January, he shared a surprise freestyle track, titled “Irish Fighting.” On Monday, Drake and his son Aubrey attended a Raptors game at Scotiabank Arena.
Lamar, meanwhile, is in the midst of a historic mid-career resurgence. Following the success of “Not Like Us,” he’s been announced as the Super Bowl halftime performer, released an acclaimed new album, titled “GNX,” and announced a massive world tour with SZA, which includes two shows at Rogers Centre this spring.
