Drake's Lawyers Claim 'Millions of People' Thought 'Not Like Us' Was a 'Factual Assertion' that He Is a 'Pedophile'

Drake’s lawyers are hitting back at Universal Music Group as they claim that “millions of people” believed the rapper to be a “pedophile” thanks to Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show performance.

Drake’s attorneys filed a response to UMG’s motion to stay discovery on Thursday, March 20, poking holes in the label’s argument that Lamar’s hit diss track “Not Like Us,” which calls Drake a “certified pedophile” who should be “placed on neighborhood watch,” is simply his opinion.

In the filing, which was obtained by PEOPLE, Drake’s attorneys say UMG’s “headline argument” that “Not Like Us” is Lamar’s opinion is “doomed to fail,” as “UMG completely ignores the Complaint’s allegations that millions of people, all over the world, did understand [the song] as a factual assertion that [Drake] is a pedophile.”

“UMG brazenly continued to publish and promote the [song] even after [Drake’s] home was attacked by a gunman, after his businesses were defaced, after [Drake] made UMG aware of the falsity of the allegations (and the harm they were causing), and after UMG knew that the public believed the allegations to be true statements of fact,” the filing claims.

Lamar, 37, released “Not Like Us” in May 2024 amid a public feud with Drake, 38, that’s so far led to nine collective diss tracks between the two artists. The song swept all five of the Grammy Awards categories in which it was nominated, including song of the year and record of the year.

Lamar also performed the song while headlining the Super Bowl LIX halftime show, and looked directly into the camera and smiled as he rapped, “Say Drake, I hear you like ‘em young.” The word “pedophile” was censored from the lyrics.

Super Bowl LIX was watched by an estimated 127.7 million people, making it the largest Super Bowl audience in TV history, according to Nielsen.

The performance came one month after Drake sued UMG in January for releasing and promoting the song, claiming the label, to which he’s been signed for more than a decade, “approved, published and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track that falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violent retribution against him.”

"Drake has never engaged in any acts that would require he be 'placed on neighborhood watch.' Drake has never engaged in sexual relations with a minor," the document claimed. "Drake has never been charged with, or convicted of, any criminal acts whatsoever."

At the time, UMG called the allegations “untrue” and “illogical,” and in March, filed a motion to dismiss the suit, saying Drake “lost a rap battle he provoked” and “sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds.”

The latest filing comes after UMG filed a letter motion on March 18 to stay discovery “until the Court decides UMG’s motion to dismiss.”

The motion to stay discovery, which was obtained by PEOPLE, alleged that UMG has “presented substantial arguments that Drake’s claims should be dismissed in their entirety,” including the fact that they say “Not Like Us” “conveys nonactionable opinion and rhetorical hyperbole, not fact.”