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Drake Sues UMG, His Own Label, for Defamation Over Pedophile Claims in Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us'

Jan 15, 2025, 03:52 PM

Drake has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against his own record label, Universal Music Group (UMG), accusing it of spreading a "false and malicious" narrative that he is a pedophile through the promotion of Kendrick Lamar's diss track "Not Like Us." The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, alleges that UMG used bots and payola to artificially inflate the song's streaming numbers and that the company prioritized corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists. Drake claims the song incited violence against him, including an alleged shooting at his home. The lawsuit refers to "Not Like Us" as "the 2024 equivalent of 'Pizzagate'" and accuses UMG of allowing content creators like Kai Cenat to monetize reactions to the track without enforcing copyright claims. Drake had previously withdrawn a legal petition against UMG and Spotify in New York Supreme Court without costs to any party, replacing it with this federal lawsuit. The lawsuit begins with a quote from UMG CEO Lucian Grainge, highlighting the severity of the allegations.