Thu | Oct 9, 2025

Judge tosses Drake’s defamation lawsuit against Universal Music over rap beef with Kendrick Lamar

Published:Thursday | October 9, 2025 | 3:55 PM
In this combination of images Rapper Kendrick Lamar appears at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, 2017, in Inglewood, California, left, and Canadian rapper Drake appears at the premiere of the series "Euphoria," in Los Angeles on June 4, 2019. (AP Ph
Chris Pizzello
In this combination of images Rapper Kendrick Lamar appears at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, 2017, in Inglewood, California, left, and Canadian rapper Drake appears at the premiere of the series "Euphoria," in Los Angeles on June 4, 2019. (AP Photos/Chris Pizzello, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday tossed out a defamation lawsuit Drake brought against Universal Music Group, labelling the alleged libellous words as opinion.

Judge Jeannette A. Vargas rejected the lawsuit on Thursday in a written opinion.

The January lawsuit alleged that UMG published and promoted a track on rival Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us” even though it included false paedophilia allegations against Drake and suggested listeners should resort to vigilante justice.

Lamar was not named in the lawsuit.

Universal Music Group, the parent record label for both artists, had denied the allegations.

The lawsuit alleged the track led to violence Drake’s home in Toronto, tarnished his reputation and decreased the value of his brand.

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