Universal Music Group is not backing down against Drake. More than a week after he filed a defamation and harassment lawsuit, accusing them of heavily promoting Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” the behemoth music company is filing a motion to have it dismissed.
UMG filed the motion in Texas on Thursday and claimed that the Toronto rapper does not have enough evidence to support his allegations, according to Variety.
The filing reads, “Because [Drake’s] petition is related to and was filed in response to UMG’s protected free speech, and because [Drake] cannot carry his burden to establish by clear and specific evidence that he is entitled to pre-suit discovery, the Court should dismiss [Drake’s] retaliatory legal action against UMG.”
The company later added in the 144-page motion, “[Drake] provides nothing outside of his verified petition, which alone cannot provide an evidentiary basis for a petition. Even looking into the petition... there is no evidentiary support for his asserted need for pre-suit deposition of UMG.”
UMG also said that Drake’s lawsuit is a weak attempt to stop them from distributing Lamar’s smash hit, which will be difficult considering he’s set to perform at this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Drake’s decision to file a lawsuit against UMG has not sat well with many in the hip-hop community, and it’s a popular sentiment that the “Slime You Out” rapper is acting like a sore loser in his beef with Lamar.
He particularly frustrated many in the streaming community and named some of the most popular content creators on the internet in his lawsuit, including Kai Cenat, NoLifeShaq, RDC Gaming, Cartier Family, and Zias.
On pages 52 and 53 of the lengthy suit, the Toronto rapper’s attorneys alleged that UMG allowed these personalities to monetize reactions to Lamar’s diss track without enforcing copyright claims.
The 6-God believes that this helped spread the false claims that he’s a child predator and is an example of the company prioritizing money over the 6-God’s reputation.