A defamation lawsuit that Drake brought against Universal Music Group was tossed out Thursday by a federal judge who said the lyrics in Kendrick Lamar’s dis track “Not Like Us” were opinion.
The feud between two of hip-hop’s biggest stars erupted in the spring of 2024, with the pair trading a series of vitriolic tracks that culminated in Lamar landing the “metaphorical killing blow” with his megahit that May, Judge Jeannette A. Vargas said in her written opinion.
While the track’s lyrics explicitly branded Drake as a pedophile, Vargas said, a reasonable listener could not have concluded that “Not Like Us” was conveying objective facts about the Canadian superstar.
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“Although the accusation that Plaintiff is a pedophile is certainly a serious one, the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that ‘Not Like Us’ imparts verifiable facts about Plaintiff,” Vargas wrote.
After the decision Drake’s legal team said in a statement: “We intend to appeal today’s ruling, and we look forward to the Court of Appeals reviewing it.”
Source: ameyawdebrah.com/
