Oh brother…
Source: Cole Burston/Getty Images
After suffering a clear defeat to Kendrick Lamar in the court of internet opinion, Drake continues to shamelessly make things worse–this time, slapping his own label UMG with a federal defamation lawsuit after withdrawing his much-maligned legal petition against the mega label and streaming giant Spotify.
In the complaint, the ‘Hotline Bling’ rapper accused UMG of spreading the “false and malicious narrative” that he is a pedophile by distributing Kendrick’s world-stopping diss track “Not Like Us,” according to the lawsuit, via Variety.
He also claimed that UMG knew Lamar’s lyrics and imagery in the song’s music video were false and dangerous and that it “chose corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.”
“UMG saw an opportunity, seized it, and continued to fan the flames,” the suit continues.
Naturally, Universal fired back at Drake’s allegations, pointing out how “illogical” it would be to purposefully defame their own artist.
“Not only are these claims untrue, but the notion that we would seek to harm the reputation of any artist — let alone Drake — is illogical,” a UMG spokesperson said, according to Variety. “We have invested massively in his music and our employees around the world have worked tirelessly for many years to help him achieve historic commercial and personal financial success.”
The label went on to point out that they’ve helped Drake drop his diss tracks in the past, saying the Canadian rapper “has intentionally and successfully used UMG to distribute his music and poetry to engage in conventionally outrageous back-and-forth ‘rap battles’ to express his feelings about other artists.” Whew!
Naturally, social media erupted over the ill-timed lawsuit that was immediately mocked while fueling hilarious hysteria ahead of Kendrick potentially performing ‘Not Like Us’ in front of 300 million people at the Super Bowl.
Do you think Drake permanently tainted his legacy with this lawsuit? Tell us down below and peep the pettiest reactions to him slapping UMG with a federal defamation suit on the flip.
