Drake expands lawsuit in opposition to Common Music Group, alleging defamation at Tremendous Bowl

[ad_1] Drake has expanded his lawsuit in opposition to Common Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick Lamar’s diss monitor Not Like Us, alleging that he was defamed by Lamar’s half–time efficiency on the 2025 Tremendous Bowl.

With lyrics together with “Say Drake, I hear you want ’em younger … licensed lover boy? Licensed paedophile,” Lamar’s monitor was one among plenty of diss tracks issued by the rappers in opposition to one another in spring 2024. Not Like Us turned essentially the most commercially profitable, reaching No 1 within the US and UK, and it additionally received Lamar 5 Grammy awards together with report and music of the 12 months.

In January Drake sued UMG, the label that he and Lamar share, over the music, alleging UMG “authorized, revealed and launched a marketing campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap monitor” that was “supposed to convey the particular, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a felony paedophile, and to counsel that the general public ought to resort to vigilante justice in response”. UMG argued the case was “totally with out benefit” and referred to as for it to be dismissed.

Drake’s authorized staff have now amended the lawsuit with new allegations, claiming that the Tremendous Bowl efficiency, which was the most-watched half-time present ever, “additional solidified the general public’s perception within the fact of the allegations in opposition to Drake … Not solely did streams of the recording improve considerably following these two mega-cultural occasions, however threats in opposition to Drake and his household did as properly.”

Lamar omitted the phrases “licensed paedophile” from the efficiency, however included the “I hear you want ’em younger” line, delivered whereas staring into the digital camera in a second that was extensively shared on social media. The omission was made, the lawsuit claims, as a result of “everybody understands that it's defamatory to falsely model somebody a ‘licensed paedophile’”. Lamar isn't being sued by Drake, solely UMG.

UMG responded to the amendments by saying: “Drake, unquestionably one of many world’s most achieved artists and with whom we’ve loved a 16-year profitable relationship, is being misled by his authorized representatives into taking one absurd authorized step after one other.”

Drake secured a small victory within the ongoing case earlier this month, when a decide allowed his staff to entry sure UMG paperwork as they constructed their case, a course of generally known as “discovery” which UMG had tried to dam.

Alongside their assertion concerning the amendments, UMG addressed that call, saying: “Drake will personally be topic to discovery as properly. Because the previous saying goes, ‘watch out what you want for’.”

Drake’s staff then responded in sort, saying: “Drake is aware of precisely what he requested for: the reality and accountability.”

Elsewhere on the Tremendous Bowl present, Serena Williams – who reportedly as soon as dated Drake – danced on stage to Not Like Us, an look which was perceived by some viewers as mocking Drake. Requested by Time journal this week whether or not that was the case, Williams stated: “Completely not. I might by no means try this. And that was unhappy, that anybody would ever suppose that. I respect how they may … However completely not. I've by no means had adverse emotions in the direction of him. We’ve identified him for therefore a few years.”

Drake and Lamar are additionally presently locked in one other battle, for the highest of the US singles chart. Lamar’s monitor Luther, that includes SZA, has been at No 1 for eight weeks, however Drake’s monitor Nokia has returned to the No 2 spot this week.