Drake and his legal team are doubling down on their claims against Universal Music Group, insisting their promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” was a targeted attack.
Source: Cole Burston
On Wednesday, April 16, Complain Papi filed an amended complaint in his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group. The revised version of the complaint claims that the label used Kendrick Lamar’s wins at the Grammy Awards and performance of “Not Like Us,” during the Super Bowl Halftime Show to further promote the single and, in turn, damage Drake’s reputation.
Variety reviewed the amended complaint that expands the January suit from 81 to 107 pages, focusing on events that have happened since the initial filing. The rapper’s legal team claims that Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show was shown to over 133 million people who had “never before heard the song or any of the songs that preceded it.”
“It was the first, and will hopefully be the last, Super Bowl halftime show orchestrated to assassinate the character of another artist,” the complaint reads.
The new complaint also incorporates how UMG made significant financial investments and leveraged its professional connections to arrange for the massive amplification of defamatory claims to those 133 million viewers of the Super Bowl and more than 15 million viewers of the Grammys.
Drake goes on to allege that Lamar purposely excluded the word “pedophile” during his Super Bowl performance and that “on information and belief,” he would not have been permitted to perform unless it was omitted from the lyrics. Drake‘s team claims that UMG knowingly negotiated and promoted the Super Bowl performance after the initial lawsuit was filed, causing intentional harm to the Canadian musician.
Michael Gottlieb, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Drake’s lead attorney, issued the following statement, according to a release sent to BOSSIP:
“Drake’s amended complaint makes an already strong case stronger. UMG’s PR ‘spin’ and failed efforts to avoid discovery cannot suppress the facts and the truth. 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.”
Back in March, UMG filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, insisting that Drake was only taking legal action because he was upset that he “lost a rap battle.” A hearing for the suit dismissal is currently scheduled for June 30.
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