UMG files motion to dismiss Drake’s amended defamation lawsuit
Universal Music Group has been under attack ever since Drake filed his lawsuit against them, and, unsurprisingly, they have filed a motion to dismiss the case. The original lawsuit accused Universal Music Group (UMG) of conspiring with other popular media outlets to destroy his career. It also claimed that the record label defamed him by releasing the Kendrick Lamar diss track ‘Not Like Us.’
Last year, Drizzy filed two pre-action petitions in New York state’s Supreme Court alleging that UMG “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves with a song, ‘Not Like Us’…by using ‘bots’ and pay-to-play agreements.” Furthermore, he accused the label of aiding defamation.
But, in April, long after Kendrick’s Super Bowl Halftime performance, the Scorpion creator amended his defamation lawsuit. According to UMG’s attorney, he dropped some “key allegations” from the case, making the lawsuit redundant.
On May 7th, the record label filed a motion to dismiss the case that refuted some of Drizzy’s claims. In the lawsuit, the ‘In My Feelings’ rhymer asserted that UMG purposefully promoted ‘Not Like Us’ by allowing it to be played during Lamar’s Super Bowl performance. Drake also insisted that UMG gave the green light for the track to be played at the Grammy Awards.
In Universal’s latest motion, their attorney, Rollin A. Ransom, wrote, “As Drake concedes, Lamar’s Super Bowl performance did not include the lyric that Drake or his associates are ‘certified pedophiles’ (i.e., the alleged ‘Defamatory Material’ that is at the heart of this case).
It continues, “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 paedophiles—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.”
In a statement to Variety magazine, a UMG spokesperson stated, “Nowhere in the hundred-plus page ‘legal’ blather written by Drake’s lawyers do they bother to acknowledge that Drake himself has written and performed massively successful songs containing equally provocative taunts against other artists.” They continued, “Nor do they mention that it was Drake who started this particular exchange. 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.”