Drake's lawsuit against his own record label has been dismissed.

The Canadian rapper sued Universal Music Group (UMG) for defamation relating to their releasing and promoting Kendrick Lamar's diss track Not Like Us but a federal judge in New York City ruled against him on Thursday (09.10.25).

Judge Jeannette Vargas ruled that the "vitriolic war of words" used in the song during a "heated rap battle" was not defamatory and that "the reasonable listener" would not take literally Kendrick's line that referred to Drake as a "certified paedophile" who should be "placed on neighbourhood watch."

In a ruling obtained by People magazine, the judge wrote: "Although the accusation that [Drake] is a paedophile is certainly a serious one, the broader context of a heated rap battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable listener to believe that Not Like Us imparts verifiable facts about Drake."

UMG are "pleased" with the result and vowed to continue to work with the God's Plan hitmaker in future, despite the case.

They said in a statement: "From the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists and their creative expression and never should have seen the light of day."

"We're pleased with the court's dismissal and look forward to continuing our work successfully promoting Drake's music and investing in his career."

Meanwhile, the Hotline Bling rapper plans to continue to pursue the case by launching an appeal.

His representative said: "We intend to appeal today's ruling, and we look forward to the Court of Appeals reviewing it."

UMG had previously sought to have the lawsuit dismissed by arguing Drake had "encouraged" his feud with Kendrick and having "lost a rap battle that he provoked", decided to "sue his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds."

The record label noted Not Like Us features hyperbolic insults but Drake had also used their platform to "promote tracks levelling similarly incendiary attacks" on his rival.

The filing added: "Drake encouraged the feud.

"For example, when he felt that Lamar was taking too long to respond, Drake released a second recording in which he goaded Lamar to continue the public rap battle. Lamar did just that, and collectively Drake and Lamar released a total of nine tracks taking aim at each other."

The motion notes Drake was "pleased" to see UMG promote tracks that accused Kendrick of engaging in domestic abuse and "that one of Lamar's business partners and managers is the true father of Lamar's son."

The filing noted: "But now, after losing the rap battle, Drake claims that Not Like Us is defamatory. It is not."