Universal Music Group (UMG) has entered a motion to dismiss a recently amended lawsuit filed by Drake, as the legal battle between the Toronto rapper and his record label continues.
The explosive lawsuit was originally filed by Drake’s legal team in January. It accused UMG of defamation and harassment over its release and promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s chart-topping diss track “Not Like Us,” which insinuated Drake and his associates were involved with pedophilia, among other things.
In April, Drake’s legal team expanded that lawsuit to incorporate more events, including Lamar’s performance of “Not Like Us” at the 2025 Super Bowl, and his appearance at the 2025 Grammys, where the song swept all five of its nominated categories, including song of the year.
The amended complaint said Lamar’s Super Bowl performance was “orchestrated to assassinate the character of another artist.” It alleged that UMG made “significant financial investments and leveraged its professional connections, via sophisticated and highly-organized publicity campaigns to arrange for the massive amplification of defamatory claims to over 133 million viewers at the Super Bowl and more than 15 million viewers at the Grammys.”
In UMG’s new motion to dismiss the suit, its legal team noted that the amended suit “removed obviously false factual allegations,” and described the new allegations as “astonishing.” The motion, which was reviewed by the Star, also noted that Lamar’s Super Bowl performance omitted the line calling Drake and his associates “certified pedophiles.”
“The focus of Drake’s new claims — that ‘the largest audience for a Super Bowl halftime show ever’ did not hear Lamar call Drake or his crew pedophiles — betrays this case for what it is: Drake’s attack on the commercial and creative success of the rap artist who defeated him, rather than the content of Lamar’s lyrics,” the motion reads. “The amended complaint is without merit and should be dismissed with prejudice.”
In a statement shared with the Star, a spokesperson for UMG described Drake’s lawsuit as “‘legal’ blather,” and pointed out that “Drake himself has written and performed massively successful songs containing equally provocative taunts against other artists.”
“Apparently, Drake’s lawyers believe that when Drake willingly participates in a performative rap-battle of music and poetry, he can be ‘defamed’ even though he engages in the exact same form of creative expression,” the spokesperson said. “Drake’s lawyers can also keep seeking to ‘uncover’ evidence of wild conspiracies as to why one song that upset Drake had massive global appeal, but there is nothing to ‘uncover.’ Except for this: by working tirelessly in partnership with our artists, we achieve global success for them and their music. Our continuing partnership with Drake and his enduring success is a shining example. Despite his lawyers’ attempts to silence other artists and threaten the companies that work with them, we remain committed to propelling Drake’s career while maintaining our unwavering support of all our artists’ creative expression. Drake’s included.”
A representative for Drake’s legal team did not immediately respond to the Star’s request for comment.
UMG is a multinational music company and 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 spring of 2023, a rap feud between Drake and Lamar broke out. The feud lasted months, culminating in the release of “Not Like Us” just over a year ago. It was widely considered a knockout punch in the feud. The track reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts and broke several streaming records on Spotify. The song also won five Grammys.
In January, Drake launched the original lawsuit, alleging that UMG’s release and promotion of “Not Like Us” was not only defamatory, but also put Drake’s life at risk. In May 2024, days after the song was released, a security guard was shot during an incident at Drake’s mansion in Toronto.
Drake’s legal team alleges that the song is defamatory, citing the song’s lyrics and the single’s cover art, which features a photo of Drake’s Toronto mansion covered with several red markers representing the presence of registered sex offenders.
The lawsuit revealed dramatic details about a May 9 shooting at Drake’s home that left a security guard with life-threatening injuries. UMG’s promotion of “Not Like Us,” it argued, is an example of valuing “corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.”
In March, UMG filed a blistering motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
”(Drake), one of the most successful recording artists of all time, lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated,” the motion read. “Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds.”
The motion also referenced Drake’s own diss tracks, which contained attacks on Lamar’s character, including accusations that Lamar abused his fiancée.
“Assessed in context, as it must be, ‘Not Like Us’ clearly conveys nonactionable opinion and rhetorical hyperbole — diss tracks are a popular and celebrated art form centred around outrageous insults, and they would be severely chilled if Drake’s suit were permitted to proceed.”
In April, a judge denied UMG’s motion to delay discovery, setting the stage for the formal legal process of gathering evidence. Drake’s team celebrated the decision, and said the process is likely to include deposing key executives at UMG.
“UMG’s PR ‘spin’ and failed efforts to avoid discovery cannot suppress the facts and the truth,” said Drake’s lead attorney, Michael Gottlieb, in a statement at the time. “With discovery now moving forward, Drake will expose the evidence of UMG’s misconduct, and UMG will be held accountable for the consequences of its ill-conceived decisions.”
UMG suggested that the judgment to grant discovery was “routine,” in its response. “That ‘win’ will become a loss if this frivolous and reckless lawsuit is not dropped in its entirety because Drake will personally be subject to discovery as well. As the old saying goes, ‘be careful what you wish for.’”
