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“It was the first, and will hopefully be the last, Super Bowl halftime show orchestrated to assassinate the character of another artist,“ the rapper’s amended complaint against UMG said.
By Ethan Millman
Drake has filed an amended complaint in his defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group, alleging that Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime show in February “assassinated” his character, and that the performance and the Grammy wins for “Not Like Us” “introduced new listeners to the Recording, causing even more people to be duped into believing that Drake was a pedophile.”
In the amended complaint, filed Wednesday night and reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, Drake alleged that the Super Bowl performance — and Lamar omitting the word “pedophile” during “Not Like Us” — affirmed his claim that the song’s lyrics were defamatory. (While Lamar didn’t say the word pedophile, he did still perform similarly suggestive lyrics, like the line stating that “I hear you like ‘em young.”)
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“No other modifications were made,” Drake’s suit said. “On information and belief, Kendrick Lamar would not have been permitted to perform during the Super Bowl Performance unless the word “pedophile” (in the phrase “certified pedophiles”) was omitted from the lyrics—that is because nearly everyone understands that it is defamatory to falsely brand someone a “certified pedophile.”
The complaint pointed to reported figures labeling the performance the most-viewed halftime show of all time (over 133 million people across all viewing platforms), stating the performance introduced “Not Like Us” to “millions more who had never before heard the song or any of the songs that preceded it.”
“It was the first, and will hopefully be the last, Super Bowl halftime show orchestrated to assassinate the character of another artist,” the complaint said.
Drake’s amended complaint comes three months after the rapper first sued UMG — both his and Lamar’s record company — back in January, alleging that “UMG intentionally sought to turn Drake into a pariah, a target for harassment, or worse” and “did so not because it believes any of these false claims to be true, but instead because it would profit from damaging Drake’s reputation.”
UMG denied the allegations, motioning to dismiss the claims. On Wednesday night, the company issued a lengthy statement, calling his lawsuit “baseless” and warning that the suit’s implications stifle artistic creative expression.
“Drake, unquestionably one of the world’s most accomplished artists and with whom we’ve enjoyed a 16-year successful relationship, is being misled by his legal representatives into taking one absurd legal step after another,” UMG said.
In the company’s statement, UMG also referenced a discovery motion from two weeks ago in which Drake was granted an allowance to ask for documents such as Lamar’s contract. The company noted that Drake is “subject to discovery as well,” warning to “be careful what you wish for.”
“Both the Texas and New York proceedings are an affront to all artists and creative expression,” UMG said. “Should his legal representatives senselessly keep the New York lawsuit alive, we will demonstrate that all remaining claims are without merit. It is shameful that these foolish and frivolous legal theatrics continue. They are reputationally and financially costly to Drake and have no chance of success.”
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