Drake filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) for defamation and harassment. The suit was submitted on Wednesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. It claims UMG promoted a false narrative through Kendrick Lamar’s diss track, Not Like Us.
The lawsuit alleges UMG approved, published, and launched a campaign to spread a harmful narrative. The track falsely claims that Drake is a criminal paedophile. The campaign was intended to create public outrage, according to the lawsuit.
Drake claims UMG used bots to artificially boost Spotify streams of the track. Social media influencers were reportedly paid to promote the song, including hosts of the NFR Podcast. UMG also removed copyright restrictions on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, allowing the song to spread quickly.
Drake further alleges that UMG worked with Apple to manipulate Siri and direct users to stream Not Like Us. Radio stations were paid for increased airplay, and Complex Networks was used to promote the track extensively. Over 50 articles were published about the song by Complex since May.
