Whew! Drake isn’t letting anything slide especially not Kendrick Lamar’s diss record. The Toronto superstar has officially appealed the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit tied to lLamar’s explosive 2024 track.
RELATED: Certified Lover Boy Not Done: Drake Appeals Dismissal of ‘Not Like Us’ Lawsuit
According to court documents filed Wednesday, Drake and his attorneys are pushing back on a decision that tossed his case against Universal Music Group (UMG), the label he shares with Lamar, three months ago. The lawsuit stemmed from Lamar’s 2024 track, where he brands Drake a “certified paedophile,” a line that instantly lit the internet on fire and became one of the most controversial moments in recent hip-hop history.
Now, Drake’s camp argues that the lyric wasn’t framed as exaggeration or metaphor, but delivered as a straight-up statement of fact. They also claim UMG leaned all the way in, aggressively promoting the record and, in the process, amplifying damage to Drake’s reputation. As reported by Rolling Stone, Drake argues that the ruling creates a “dangerous categorical rule,” one that treats serious allegations in diss tracks as untouchable opinion, no matter how damaging.
“The court effectively created an unprecedented and overbroad categorical rule that statements in rap diss tracks can never constitute statements of fact,” his brief claims.
More On The Case:
Back in October, U.S. District Court Judge Jeannette A. Vargas shut the case down, ruling that the lyrics were “nonactionable opinion” and “would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that Not Like Us imparts verifiable facts.”
Drake filed his notice of appeal on November 12, signaling he wasn’t ready to take that legal L.
The lawsuit itself dates back to January of last year, when Drake sued UMG, accusing the label of prioritizing virality and profit over truth. In the end, UMG’s legal team won their motion to dismiss, at least for now.
With the appeal in motion, Drake’s lawyers are asking the court to revive the case and send it back down for a full trial on the defamation claims.
How do you guys think this is going to play out?