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A court official has thrown out Drake's defamation lawsuit targeting Universal Music Group over Kendrick Lamar's song the diss record.

Presiding Judge the court’s judge ruled that Lamar's lyrics, which accused Drake and his crew of being "certified paedophiles", were "nonactionable opinion" and cannot be deemed defamatory.

The Canadian rapper submitted the legal action in January, accusing UMG, the music company representing the two rappers, of defamatory conduct by allowing the song to be released and promoted, stating it disseminated a "untrue and harmful story".

Drake's representative stated he planned to challenge the decision. Universal Music Group said it was pleased with the outcome and was looking forward to resuming its collaboration with the rapper.

Background of the Rap Battle

Not Like Us, which was first dropped in May 2024, was widely seen as the decisive blow in an continuing feud between the competing artists.

It has emerged as the biggest hit of the rapper’s musical journey, having received five Grammys and being one of the most-talked about moments of his Super Bowl half-time show in early 2025.

In a 38-page order, Judge Vargas called the dispute between the rappers "the most notorious hip-hop feud in the history of rap music".

"Both rappers’ seven-track rap battle was a 'war of words' that was the focus of extensive press coverage and online discourse," the judge wrote.

"While the accusation that Drake is a pedophile is undoubtedly a grave allegation, the wider backdrop of a intense musical rivalry, with incendiary language and insulting claims exchanged by both participants, would not lead the reasonable listener to believe that 'Not Like Us' imparts verifiable facts about the claimant."

She also noted that, in an earlier song, Drake had "dared his rival to make the paedophilia accusations" that appeared in the diss record.

On the song his own release, the rapper used the synthetic vocals of the late rapper to give Lamar advice on how to win the rap battle.

"Talk about him likin' young girls, that's a gift from me," the song suggested.

"It is in this context in which such lines as 'Hey Drake, I’ve heard you prefer them young' must be evaluated," wrote the court.

"The parallel in the phrasing strongly indicates that this line is a direct callback to the artist’s own words in the earlier release."

'A Slap in the Face to Creatives'

The musician, whose real name is Aubrey Graham, did not sue his rival in the lawsuit.

His lawyers accused UMG of initiating "a campaign to generate a popular song" out of a release that made the "false factual allegation that the artist is a criminal paedophile, and to imply that the public should resort to extra-legal action in response".

Deciding against Drake, the judge said listeners would not expect "accurate factual reporting" from a musical attack "filled with profanity, trash-talking, violent implications, and exaggerated statements."

She highlighted that Drake himself had used comparable rhetoric, quoting a lyric in which the star "strongly" suggested that "Lamar is a spouse beater", and another where Drake "claims that he 'was told' that one of his rival’s sons may not be biologically his."

Regarding the track in question, Judge Vargas said: "Even apparent statements of fact may assume the character of statements of opinion... when made in public debate, intense arguments, or other circumstances in which an listener may expect the use of slurs, passionate language or exaggeration."

Responding to the rejection, a label representative said: "From the beginning, this case was an affront to every creative and their creative expression and never should have been filed."

"We're pleased with the court's dismissal and look forward to resuming our partnership successfully promoting the artist’s work and investing in his career," the spokesperson continued.

A representative for Drake said the rapper intended to appeal the ruling, "and we await the Court of Appeals reviewing it".

Lamar has not yet issue a statement on the case.