Drake has filed a second legal petition against Universal Music Group (UMG) over Kendrick Lamar's controversial diss track, Not Like Us.
The One Dance rapper submitted court documents in Texas, accusing UMG of defamation over the track, which includes inflammatory allegations accusing Drake of being a pedophile.
In the new filing, Drake's legal team argues that Not Like Us has tarnished his reputation by making "false accusations of being a sex offender, engaging in pedophilic acts, harboring sex offenders, and committing other criminal sexual acts."
The petition claims UMG executives were aware of the song's damaging lyrics and had the power to "refuse to release" the track or demand edits to remove the defamatory content. Instead, they allegedly chose to capitalize on the controversy.
"UMG designed, financed, and executed a plan to turn Not Like Us into a viral mega-hit, exploiting the harm caused to Drake and his businesses to drive consumer hysteria and generate massive revenues," the filing alleges.
Additionally, the lawsuit names iHeartRadio executives, claiming they may have accepted "covert payments" from UMG as part of a "pay-to-play scheme" to amplify the song's reach.
Earlier this week, Drake filed a related petition in New York, accusing UMG of collaborating with Spotify to artificially boost Not Like Us's popularity.
A UMG spokesperson responded to the accusations, saying: "The suggestion that UMG would do anything to undermine any of its artists is offensive and untrue. We adhere to the highest ethical practices in our marketing and promotional campaigns. No amount of contrived and absurd legal arguments in this pre-action submission can mask the fact that fans choose the music they want to hear."
These filings are pre-action requests for information and not lawsuits but could potentially lead to legal action down the line.
Not Like Us emerged as the most successful track in this year's diss exchange between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Drake firmly denied the allegations made in the song through his response track, The Heart Part 6.
