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Drake performs live on stage during day two of Wireless Festival 2025 at Finsbury Park on July 12, 2025 in London, England. Drake is headlining an unprecedented all three nights of Wireless Festival.
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Key Takeaways:
- A federal judge dismissed Drake’s defamation lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” ruling the lyrics are protected opinion.
- Charlamagne Tha God and fans online mocked Drake for filing the suit, calling it a sore-loser move.
- The decision highlights how diss tracks remain legally protected, reinforcing their role in Hip Hop’s cultural and lyrical battles.
Drake has taken another L — this time in court. On Thursday (Oct. 9), a federal judge dismissed Drizzy’s defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group, and reactions have been flooding social media timelines ever since.
Back in January 2025, the 6 God sued his own label, alleging its promotion of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” tarnished his reputation — largely because the song referred to him as a “certified pedophile.” However, in Judge Jeannette A. Vargas’ decision, she ruled that the song lyrics are “nonactionable opinion.”
“Because the Court concludes that the allegedly defamatory statements in ‘Not Like Us’ are nonactionable opinion, the motion to dismiss is GRANTED,” wrote Vargas in her opinion.
Elsewhere, Vargas referred to the song as being a product of “the most infamous rap battle in the genre’s history.” She also added, “the penultimate song of this feud, ‘Not Like Us’ by Kendrick Lamar, dealt the metaphorical killing blow.”
Ouch.
Reportedly, Drake’s lawyers have vowed to appeal the decision. The court of public opinion is reacting, and it’s fair to say that most of the rhetoric is not in the “One Dance” rapper’s favor.
“This lawsuit wasn’t filed for any other reason other than Drake’s feelings was hurt because Kendrick busted his a** in a rap battle, it’s really that simple,” said Charlamagne Tha God on “The Breakfast Club” on Friday (Oct. 10) when discussing the case. “I’m shocked the lawsuit lasted a year and even got this far. This man got his a** busted in a good old fashioned rap battle. Nothing more, nothing less and we just have never seen how Drake reacts under real pressure. You learn a lot more about people in defeat than you do in a win. We learned that Drake is a sore loser.”
There were plenty of similar sentiments on social media. “Drake’s wack [a**] lawsuit has been dismissed🤣 as it should have been,” tweeted @myhumbleopinyun on X. “Apparently you can call someone a PDF in a rap battle😭 Somebody check on the Owls.”
Said @DaKidGowie on X, “I believe Drake caused more harm to his image by filing a lawsuit instead of accepting the outcome of the battle with Kendrick Lamar. 🧐”
Despite the controversy, Drake’s career continues to thrive. After touring Europe over the summer, the Toronto rapper is reportedly dropping a new album called Iceman before the end of the year.