Overview
- U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas dismissed the case on October 9 in New York, finding the song’s statements were nonactionable opinion in the rap-battle context.
- Drake’s team said he will appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals.
- After the ruling, ‘Not Like Us’ re-entered Apple Music and iTunes Top 100 charts in multiple countries, with reports of about 1.2 million Spotify streams that day.
- Drake’s complaint had alleged UMG and Spotify artificially boosted the track and pushed a false narrative portraying him as a predator, claims the court did not sustain.
- UMG’s successful motion to dismiss argued diss-track barbs are not understood as factual assertions, and the dispute now shifts to appellate review.