Drake Expands Lawsuit Against Universal Music Group, Claims Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Performance Defamed Him

Drake has once again turned up the heat in his ongoing legal battle with Universal Music Group (UMG). In an amendment to his defamation lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, April 16, the Canadian rapper has now included Kendrick Lamar’s historic Super Bowl LIX halftime performance as evidence supporting his claim that he was defamed by the music giant.

The amendment argues that Lamar’s performance, which exposed millions of children to Drake’s diss track “Not Like Us,” was a calculated attempt to tarnish his reputation. According to Drake’s legal team, the performance allowed the song to be heard by a massive, previously unaware audience. The lawsuit describes the event as “the first, and will hopefully be the last, Super Bowl halftime show orchestrated to assassinate the character of another artist.”

Additionally, the filing notes Kendrick’s decision to self-censor the word “pedophile” during his rendition of the track, using it as further proof that the diss was harmful to Drake’s image. This self-censorship, Drake’s legal team claims, indicates the song’s controversial nature and the deliberate attempt to damage his character.

Drake’s lawsuit also highlights Kendrick’s Grammy wins for “Not Like Us,” suggesting that the award-winning track further cemented the damage done to Drake’s reputation. The lawsuit contends that the performance at the Super Bowl halftime show and its subsequent success at the Grammys could not have occurred without UMG’s direct or indirect involvement.

The initial lawsuit, filed in January, also included allegations that UMG used bots to artificially inflate streaming numbers for “Not Like Us” during the highly publicized feud between Drake and Lamar. Although these claims were based on unverified testimony from an Akademiks livestream, the amendment reveals a shift in Drake’s stance. The amended complaint now claims that while UMG may not have directly employed bots, they were fully aware of third-party bot usage and failed to intervene, despite having the power to stop it.

Drake’s legal team is confident that the expanded lawsuit strengthens their case, arguing that UMG’s efforts to suppress the facts will not prevent the truth from coming to light. “With discovery now moving forward, Drake will expose the evidence of UMG’s misconduct, and UMG will be held accountable for the consequences of its ill-conceived decisions,” they stated in the filing.

In response to the new allegations, UMG issued a statement labeling Drake’s legal actions as absurd and claiming the rapper was being misled by his legal team. The music conglomerate pointed out that Drake had previously withdrawn a separate legal petition in Texas, accusing his counsel of “quietly dropping” the case without explanation.

UMG further criticized the amended lawsuit, warning that if Drake’s legal team continued to push forward with the claims, it would only expose them to greater scrutiny. “Two weeks ago, his representatives celebrated a ‘win’: the granting of a routine discovery motion,” the statement read. “That ‘win’ will become a loss if this frivolous and reckless lawsuit is not dropped in its entirety because Drake will personally be subject to discovery as well.”

With both sides gearing up for a protracted legal battle, it remains to be seen how this will all play out. One thing is certain: Drake’s fight with UMG has taken another dramatic turn, with Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance now at the center of the controversy.