Attorneys For Drake File Appeal After Dismissal Of Defamation Lawsuit Against UMG
Drake filed an appeal against his distribution label, Universal Music Group (UMG), after the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit
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Canadian recording artist Drake is not letting his feud with his distribution label, Universal Music Group (UMG), go, as he has appealed the decision of a federal judge in the “OVO” label head’s defamation lawsuit.
According to Rolling Stone, the suit, which uses his rival, Kendrick Lamar’s award-winning and popular diss track, “Not Like Us,” as the backdrop of the legal action, was dismissed when Judge Jeannette Vargas determined that the statements Drake alleged were defamatory amounted to “non-actionable opinion,” effectively ending the high-profile case.
Attorneys for the rapper filed an appellate brief that requests that the ruling be overturned, citing that the song that includes a line labeling him a “certified pedophile” caused fans of the song to believe it and that it caused him serious harm. They claim that the dismissal of the lawsuit could have far-reaching consequences. The ruling that diss tracks are non-actionable opinion created a “dangerous categorical rule” that would protect recording artists and labels from defamation liability.
“The court effectively created an unprecedented and overbroad categorical rule that statements in rap diss tracks can never constitute statements of fact,” according to the brief.
Drake’s attorneys are requesting that the appellate court remand the case, insisting that it be decided at trial rather than on a motion to dismiss.
UMG must submit a brief response by March 27.
Less than a month after the dismissal, the legal team for Drake informed the court that it would be taking this action when they filed a notice of appeal on Oct. 29, 2025.
“A rap diss track would not create more of an expectation in the average listener that the lyrics state sober facts instead of opinion,” Vargas wrote when revealing her ruling Oct. 9, describing the song as full of “profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language.”
The top-charting single went on to sweep the GRAMMY Awards, as Kendrick took home five trophies, including Song and Record of the Year in 2025.