It’s a major setback for “a minor” lawsuit.
Drake’s defamation lawsuit against his record label over Kendrick Lamar’s hit diss track “Not Like Us” was thrown out on Thursday by a federal judge in Manhattan.
Judge Jeannette Vargas sided with Universal Music Group in its request to toss the suit, ruling Lamar’s song was not presented as factual and therefore not defamation.
“A reasonable listener could not have concluded that ‘Not Like Us’ was conveying objective facts about Drake,” Vargas wrote in her opinion. “The average listener is not under the impression that a diss track is the product of a thoughtful or disinterested investigation, conveying to the public fact-checked verifiable content.”
In the suit, Drake claimed UMG widely promoted and distributed “Not Like Us” even though it accused him of being a “certified pedophile.” He argued that UMG committed defamation because it knew the statements were false but released the song anyway.
Lamar, who performed the smash hit during the Super Bowl halftime show this year, was not named in the suit. But Drake accused UMG of intentionally trying to “assassinate” his character by orchestrating that performance, which it knew would introduce the track to an even wider audience.
However, Vargas ruled the lyrics of the song were clearly opinionated and therefore couldn’t be considered defamatory.
Listeners would not expect “accurate factual reporting” from a diss track “replete with profanity, trash-talking, threats of violence and figurative and hyperbolic language,” Vargas wrote.
She also pointed out that during the rappers’ ongoing feud, Drake implied Lamar was guilty of domestic abuse on his own diss track “Family Matters.” She noted listeners were expecting “epithets, fiery rhetoric or hyperbole rather than factual assertions.”
UMG, which distributes music for both artists through different subgroups, celebrated the decision and said it would stick by Drake going forward.
“From the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day,” the company said in a statement. “We’re pleased with the court’s dismissal and look forward to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake’s music and investing in his career.”
With News Wire Services
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
