Drake assures he doesn’t have anything to hide after UMG warns him about exposing inside information in his defamation lawsuit.
Drake Responds to UMG Reaction to Amended Lawsuit
On Thursday (April 17), a spokesperson for Drake issued the following statement to XXL in response to UMG’s comments regarding Drizzy’s amended complaint filed on Wednesday (April 16).
“UMG’s latest statement is a desperate attempt to spin the narrative and deflect from the truth: Drake is holding the largest music conglomerate in the world accountable for its actions and doing so without fear,” the statement reads. “We dismissed the Texas discovery action because discovery will now proceed in New York. That’s not retreat, that’s victory. UMG dismissed its first amendment petition in Texas because it has no claim, that’s losing. And UMG knows the case against it is only getting stronger.”
The statement continues: “Drake welcomes discovery and has nothing to hide. It’s not Drake who should worry; it’s UMG’s current leadership. We look forward to hearing from Lucian Grainge, John Janick, and UMG employees under oath. UMG claims to stand for creativity, but in fact exploits it and the artist community knows that. UMG drains artists for its profits, then discards them. Drake joins a growing chorus of artists raising questions about UMG’s leadership. The public and artists should be concerned about recent headlines involving UMG’s largest stakeholder that only reinforces the need for transparency all the way up to the Board of Director’s level. UMG said, ‘be careful what you ask for,’ Drake knows exactly what he asked for: the truth and accountability.”
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Drake Amends Defamation Lawsuit Against UMG
On Wednesday, the rap star’s lawyers added additional claims to his federal defamation lawsuit filed in January against UMG over Kendrick Lamar‘s “Not Like Us.” The new complaint claims UMG made significant financial investments and leveraged its professional connections, “via sophisticated and highly-organized publicity campaigns” to get “Not Like Us” played at the 2025 Super Bowl and 2025 Grammy Awards in front of massive audiences.
A spokesperson for UMG released the following statement to XXL in response to Drake’s latest chess move on Thursday: “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,” the statement reads. “Two weeks ago, his representatives celebrated a ‘win’: the granting of a routine discovery motion. That ‘win’ will become a loss if this frivolous and reckless lawsuit is not dropped in its entirety because Drake will personally be subject to discovery as well. As the old saying goes, ‘be careful what you wish for.'”
Drake is currently requesting full discovery in the case, which means UMG would have to divulge company information, including contracts surrounding the release and promotion of “Not Like Us,” which Drake claims is defamatory by calling him a child predator. Earlier this month, Drake got the approval of a judge to see said information, including Kendrick Lamar’s UMG agreement.
