Drake's attorneys cite Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance in response to UMG's request to delay rapper's defamation lawsuit

On Monday, February 24, Drake's attorney, Michael J. Gottlieb, filed a new motion in response to Universal Music Group's request to push the pretrial conference ahead. The original date for the pretrial was April 2, 2025.

In the motion, Drizzy's attorney cited Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance from earlier this month (February 9, 2025), stating:

"Delaying discovery would unfairly prejudice Plaintiff, who is continuing to suffer the consequences of UMG’s defamatory campaign. Indeed, at the same time UMG has been delaying here, UMG launched new campaigns to further spread the defamatory content, including at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, which had over 133.5 million viewers."

Gottlieb cited Lamar's performance as an example of the damage that can continue to happen while the judge waits. Meanwhile, UMG's intent behind a request to delay is put forward so that the judge can have time to consider their motion to dismiss the case - a motion they have to file before March 17, 2025.

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Drake's lawyer accused UMG of knowing about his legal claims since July 2024

The motion submitted by Drizzy's attorney in court also states that the One Dance rapper's counsel had notified UMG about his concerns in multiple discussions.

"Plaintiff first notified UMG regarding his legal claims on July 24, 2024, and counsel conferred a number of times regarding those claims prior to initiating this litigation. By no later than September 16, 2024, UMG had actual notice that Plaintiff intended to sue UMG regarding these claims."

Gottlieb also mentioned in the motion about knowing that UMG's counsel had informed him of their intention to file a dismissal motion for the lawsuit, which is potentially why they're seeking an extension at this time. However, the music label hasn't confirmed it yet.

Per Drizzy's motion, his attorney tried to contact UMG to learn about their availability for the hearing on February 6, but the latter couldn't offer sufficient evidence to support a need for delay.

Since UMG hasn't responded to the claims made by Drizzy's attorney in the new motion, the pretrial conference remains scheduled for April 2, 2025, at the time of this article's publishing.

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Drake's lawsuit accuses UMG of defamation and harassment

Drizzy's latest motion is a new development in the ongoing legal conflict between the Canadian rapper and UMG that comes over a month after Drizzy filed a formal defamation lawsuit against the organization on January 15, 2025.

In his formal lawsuit filed last month in a New York federal court, the God's Plan rapper accused the music label of having "approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track that falsely accuses Drake of being a p*dophile and calls for violent retribution against him."

The lawsuit talks about Kendrick Lamar's diss track, Not Like Us, which calls Drizzy a "p*dophile".

According to the Worst Behavior rapper, UMG's motive behind the promotion was financial, claiming that the music label knew that the content of Not Like Us was "dangerous" and would "devalue Drake's music and brand," in turn giving them an advantage when renegotiating his contract.

The lawsuit reads:

"UMG anticipated that extending Drake’s contract would be costly. By devaluing Drake’s music and brand, UMG would gain leverage to force Drake to sign a new deal on terms more favorable to UMG."

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The lawsuit cites a shooting incident that took place at Drake's home in Toronto shortly after the release of Not Like Us. Drizzy's security guard was injured in the incident for which, per the rapper, UMG is to blame. It also includes multiple examples of online hate speech, which branded him as a "s*x offender" and "p*dophile".