Judge Dismisses Drake’s Defamation Lawsuit Over Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’ Diss Track
A federal judge has dismissed Drake’s defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us. The court ruled that the lyrics, including accusations that Drake and his associates are “certified paedophiles,” were not legally defamatory — just harsh words in a heated rap battle.
Judge Jeannette Vargas said Lamar’s lyrics were “nonactionable opinion” and not the kind of statements a reasonable listener would interpret as fact. “Although the accusation that Plaintiff is a pedophile is certainly a serious one,” the judge wrote, “the broader context of a heated rap battle... would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that Not Like Us imparts verifiable facts.”
The ruling comes months after Drake filed the lawsuit in January which targets UMG — not Lamar himself — for distributing and promoting the track. Drake claimed the label helped push a “false and malicious narrative” that damaged his reputation and led to safety issues, including attempted break-ins and a shooting outside his Toronto mansion.
But the judge didn’t see it that way.
She called the high-profile feud “the most infamous rap battle in the genre’s history,” pointing to the flurry of back-and-forth tracks between Drake and Lamar throughout 2024. The lyrical attacks covered everything from family and relationships to fashion choices, with Not Like Us emerging as the “metaphorical killing blow.”
The track, which dropped in May, was a massive success for Lamar. It won five Grammys, including Record and Song of the Year, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, and became a cultural moment during his Super Bowl halftime show performance.
Drake’s legal team argued that the song crossed a line — especially since Not Like Us featured an aerial image of Drake’s home and, they claimed, encouraged vigilante justice. But Judge Vargas disagreed, noting that even Drake had used provocative language in his own diss tracks.
In Taylor Made Freestyle, Drake — using an AI-generated Tupac voice — dared Lamar to “talk about him likin' young girls.” The judge cited this lyric as proof that Not Like Us was part of an ongoing, exaggerated battle, not a factual accusation. “The similarity in the wording suggests strongly that this line is a direct callback to Drake's lyrics in the prior song,” she wrote. She added that both rappers used “profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language,” and that diss tracks aren’t expected to be fact-checked. “A reasonable listener would conclude that Lamar is rapping hyperbolic vituperations.”
UMG responded to the ruling by saying: “From the outset, this lawsuit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day.” The label added it was pleased with the dismissal and looked forward to continuing to promote Drake’s music.
Drake’s team, meanwhile, says he plans to appeal.
