Drake launches appeal after judge dismisses defamation case over Kendrick Lamar diss track

Drake has launched an appeal after a judge dismissed his defamation case over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track.

In January, Drake filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group, the label representing him and Kendrick Lamar, alleging defamation.

Drake has claimed Kendrick’s song Not Like Us promotes the “false and malicious narrative” that he is a paedophile, which he has vehemently denied.

However, the judge decided to dismiss the case earlier this month, ruling that Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics were not defamatory because they constituted an opinion.

Judge Vargas wrote that “the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that Not Like Us imparts verifiable facts.”

In response, Drake will ask the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to overturn the 9 October dismissal by US District Judge Jeannette Vargas.

According to TMZ, the original lawsuit by Drake claimed Universal Music Group has gone to great lengths to make Kendrick’s song a “chart-topping” anthem.

According to the lawsuit, the Canadian rapper, whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham, also claimed that the record label helped guarantee that Kendrick Lamar would be the main attraction at the 2018 Super Bowl halftime performance.

The big game slot was created so that Lamar could perform the diss track on the enormous platform, which Drake refers to as “one of the most significant (and viewed) cultural events of the year.”

“This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” the suit read.

“It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit, and monetise” the song.

The lawsuit added that the campaign was “intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal paedophile and to suggest that the public should resort to vigilante justice in response.”

According to the complaint, Drake’s Toronto home is depicted on the cover art for Not Like Us, with marks placed throughout to symbolise the presence of registered sex offenders.

Drake also expressed concern about a gunshot that occurred at his house in May, resulting in the injuries of one of his security guards, just days after the song was released.

Drake submitted a motion to drop a lawsuit he had filed against UMG and Spotify in New York state court on Tuesday, which prompted the music business and fans of Kendrick and Drake to believe that Drake was backing down in this legal struggle.

However, according to TMZ, this move was only done to make room for this new federal case.

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