Well, that didn’t go as planned for Drake. A federal judge just threw out the rapper’s defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar‘s viral diss track “Not Like Us,” and honestly, the court wasn’t holding back with the criticism.
Judge Jeannette Vargas dismissed the case on Thursday (October 9, 2025), ruling that the whole thing was basically a rap battle gone legal — and that some of Drake’s arguments were actually “logically incoherent.” Ouch.
So what exactly happened here? Back in January, Drake took the pretty unusual step of suing his own record label, claiming they defamed him by releasing and promoting Kendrick’s track. The problem? The song straight-up calls Drake a “certified pedophile,” and Drake argued that millions of people took that seriously, damaging his reputation.
But Judge Vargas wasn’t buying it. She ruled that Kendrick’s diss track constitutes protected opinion rather than actionable defamation, meaning you can’t really sue someone for trash talk in a rap battle. The judge pointed out something pretty important: diss tracks are “replete with profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence, and figurative and hyperbolic language,” so reasonable listeners wouldn’t think they’re stating actual facts.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Drake tried to argue that just because UMG kept promoting the song and making it bigger, that somehow made it defamatory. The judge shut that down hard, writing that this argument was “logically incoherent” — basically saying if the song was opinion from the start, republishing it doesn’t suddenly make it a lawsuit.
The court also wasn’t impressed with Drake’s selective memory. Judge Vargas noted that Drake himself was happy to make similar attacks against Kendrick, including accusing him of domestic abuse, at least until he felt like he was losing the battle. Talk about wanting to have your cake and eat it too.
Universal Music Group seemed pretty relieved by the decision. A spokesperson told the press that “from the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day.” They added they’re looking forward to continuing to promote Drake’s music, which is honestly kind of awkward given that he just sued them.
The whole situation got even messier when Kendrick performed “Not Like Us” during the Super Bowl halftime show in February, making it the centerpiece of what became the most-watched halftime performance ever. That performance actually became part of Drake’s amended lawsuit, but clearly, it didn’t help his case.
What makes this lawsuit particularly wild is that both Drake and Kendrick Lamar are signed to different labels under the same UMG umbrella. So essentially, Drake sued his parent company for promoting another artist on that same label who beat him in a rap battle. The optics? Not great.
Now the case is officially over, though Drake’s team could still appeal if they want to keep this going. But given how thoroughly the judge dismissed their arguments, that might be an uphill battle.
For what it’s worth, “Not Like Us” went on to dominate the 2025 Grammys, winning multiple awards, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Sometimes in hip-hop, you just have to take the L and move on — filing a lawsuit against your own label probably isn’t the move.