An American judge on Thursday dismissed rapper Drake’s defamation lawsuit against the Universal Music Group record label for promoting Kendrick Lamar’s popular song ‘Not Like Us’, calling him a pedophile.
Judge Jeanette Vargas considered that Lamar, an American and unusual winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his lyrics, expressed an “opinion” that does not constitute defamation, reports Variety, putting an end to a dispute in the world of rap that jumped into general pop culture this year.
Lamar starred in the Super Bowl halftime concert, the biggest sporting and media event in the US, with so many spectators that his advertisements are the most expensive, and performed ‘Not Like Us’, which was chanted by the stadium.
The judge said that “the fact that the recording was made in the middle of a rap battle is essential to assess its impact on a reasonable listener,” and noted that in that context Lamar’s statements in the lyrics of the song take on the character of opinion.
“Even apparent statements of fact take on the character of a statement of opinion (…) when made in public debate, a heated workplace dispute, or other circumstances in which an audience may anticipate the use of epithets, fierce rhetoric, or hyperbole,” he says.
On May 4, 2024, Lamar released ‘Not Like Us’, winner of the Grammys for best recording and song of the year, in which he repeats accusations from a decade ago that Drake is a pedophile and has a secret daughter whom he refuses to acknowledge.
Drake sued Universal last January in a document in which he made no mention of Lamar and in which he alleged that with ‘Not Like Us’, the record company “decided to publish, promote, exploit and monetize accusations that it knew were not only false, but also dangerous.”
This rapper, who is known for crushing his rivals with his songs and who was one of the first celebrities to support Lamar, responded to that ‘diss’ theme with another song, ‘The Heart Part 6’, in which he denies being a pedophile.
With information from EFE.
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