UMG boss Lucian Grainge blasts Drake over “nonsensical” claims
Earlier this week, Drake‘s legal team targeted Universal Music Group boss Lucian Grainge, relating to his defamation and harassment lawsuit against the label. Now, the 65-year-old CEO has fired back at the Toronto rapper.
Drizzy sued UMG in January over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us‘, with his lawsuit claiming the label “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 paedophile.”
Drake requested access to Grainge’s emails, texts, and Kendrick’s recording contract, claiming he’s a key witness in the case that allegedly cost him opportunities.
On August 14th, Grainge filed a declaration letter with the Southern District of New York, claiming he “had never heard the recording ‘Not Like Us’, nor ever saw the corresponding cover art or music video, until after they were released by Interscope Records.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, he described Drake’s claims as “farcical,” “nonsensical,” “groundless,” and “indeed ridiculous.”
The filing read, “Whilst, as part of my role, I certainly have financial oversight of and responsibility for UMG’s global businesses, the proposition that I was involved in, much less responsible for, reviewing and approving the content of ‘Not Like Us’, its cover art or music video, or for determining or directing the promotion of those materials, is groundless and indeed ridiculous.”
He said it “makes no sense due to the fact that the company that I run, Universal Music Group N.V., has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Drake, including longstanding and critical financial support for his recording career, the purchase and ownership of the bulk of his recording catalogue, and the purchase of his music publishing rights.”
Grainge added, “I am accustomed (and unfortunately largely resigned) to personal attacks, and I further recognise that a frequent strategy of UMG’s litigation opponents is to attempt to waste my and UMG’s time and resources with discovery of the sort that Drake is seeking here — either in an attempt to gain media attention or in an effort to force some kind of commercial renegotiation or financial concessions.”