Musicrake says censorship of ‘Not Like Us’ in Super Bowl reinforces defamation process

Drake reinforced his accusations of defamation and harassment against the label Universal Music Group (UMG) with a new judicial document presented on Wednesday (16). In the process, the rapper claims that the decision of the NFL to censor the word “pedophile” during the presentation of Kendrick Lamar In the Super Bowl interval show serves as proof that music “Not Like Us” It is defamatory.

“The version of the song presented during the Super Bowl was modified to exclude the word ‘pedophile’, but no other change was made,” states the new 107 pages filed in the Federal Court of Manhattan and obtained by Rolling Stone.

“This is because practically everyone understands that it is defamatory to falsely label someone like ‘certified pedophile’.”

Drake says NFL and companies responsible for television broadcasts and streaming understood that the term “certified pedophile” was unacceptable in a presentation by millions. Nevertheless, UMG continues to publish the original version of the track, without the censorship adopted even by Kendrick for the event.

When Drake entered the original lawsuit against his own label in January, the Super Bowl Lix – held on February 9 in New Orleans – had not yet happened. At the time, he and his lawyers mentioned that the show was about to take place, but they could not predict that it would become the most assisted break in history, with over 133 million viewers – overcoming the game’s own audience.

Kendrick Lamar Performs at Super Bowl 2025 🏆
(Full Performance) pic.twitter.com/kh1pkji3rh

– Raven50mm (@raven50mm) February 10, 2025

In the new document, Drake’s team states that Kendrick’s performance has significantly amplified damage to the rapper’s reputation and finances. According to them, the show:

“It reached millions of children, as well as many other people who had never listened to music.”

Although the televised version of “Not Like Us” Having censored the term “certified pedophile”, Kendrick Lamar kept verses considered harmful by Drake’s defense, such as: “Hey, Drake, I heard that you like the young girls” and “Just make sure your little sister is hidden from him.”

“This was the first – and we hope, the last – show of the interval of the Super Bowl orchestrated to murder the reputation of another artist,” says the text of the updated process.

The petition also points out that the track has gained even more repercussion by beating the awards of Recording of the Year and Music of the Year node Grammy 2025on February 3, which would also have increased the damage.

“These far -reaching cultural events presented music to a new audience, leading more people to falsely believe that Drake would be a pedophile,” states the document.

“In addition, music streams have increased significantly after these events, as well as threats against Drake and his family.”

In response, the lawyers of UMG classified the new process as “Frivolous and irresponsible”.

“Drake, unquestionably one of the most successful artists in the world-with whom we had a 16-year partnership-is being poorly oriented by its legal representatives to make absurd legal decisions one after another,” Said the label in a statement on Wednesday night.

They stated that the amended version of the process tries to avoid sanctions for false allegations in the original action. The first version accused UMG of conspiring and paying third parties to artificially inflate the song’s streaming numbers. In the new text, Drake retreats, claiming that:

“At the very least UMG knew that third parties were using bots to reproduce the track and ignored the situation, even though they had the power to stop it.”

UMG’s lawyers also criticized Drake’s recent history:

“In November, their lawyers began a process in Texas with skills. On Monday, they removed the case discreetly. Both processes in Texas and New York are an insult to artists and creative freedom. If the action in New York continues, we will prove that all remaining allegations are unfounded. Drake’s finances, and have no chance of success. ”

In an earlier motion to end the lawsuit, UMG had already stated that Drake’s accusations were “Unjustified” And they represented an attempt to alleviate the impact of their defeat on the battle of rhymes against Kendrick Lamar:

“The author, one of the most successful artists of all time, lost a rap battle he himself caused and in which he voluntarily participated. Instead of accepting defeat as the impetized artist he says he sues his own label in an wrong attempt to heal his wounded ego.”

Specialists heard by Rolling Stone They claim that Drake will face a difficult way to win the process. In any case, the case is also being interpreted as a public relations maneuver after its defeat in the nine tracks against Kendrick in May last year.

This article is a translation of Rolling Stone American, written by Nancy Dillon and published on April 17, 2025. Read the original version here.