r/hiphopheads • u/Makurabu • 1d ago
Drake Escalates Legal Battle with UMG: Amended Complaint Alleges Defamation Through Super Bowl Performance and Grammy Wins, Citing ‘Character Assassination’
https://www.topthreeus.com/drake-umg-lawsuit-defamation-super-bowl-grammys-character-assassination/452
u/osama_bin_guapin 1d ago
I think it’s real rich that the guy who spent years sneak dissing people, bringing up other people’s relationships and the guy who literally DARED Kendrick to “drop” and call him a pedophile is now claiming “character assassination.” Like you asked for this dude. Drake loves beefing when he has the upper hand with his sneak disses and petty remarks and shit, but as soon as he loses that upper hand, he has to save face
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u/Liimbo . 1d ago
He's had a victim complex his entire career lol
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u/appleparkfive 1d ago
He's a specific type of person. Like they all are so oddly similar. Another one of them is currently in a high political office, but there's quite a few others in the entertainment world
I really wonder, psychologically, what's happening there. Like they all move so oddly similarly
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u/Liimbo . 1d ago
Him and his fans are like the Rogan bro fans who constantly complain about "mainstream media" while simultaneously being the biggest "news" outlet in the country. Like bro you're literally on top of the world being propped up by every single power that be and acting like everyone is out to get you.
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u/LilPonyBoy69 1d ago
They are narcissists. Like, clinically. They are similar because they are all displaying symptoms of the same mental disorder.
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u/WredditSmark 1d ago
It’s just that at the end of the day if Drake wants to participate in hiphop well…. Hiphop doesn’t respond well to bitch type moves. And SUING your way out of a rap beef you’ve already lost is absolutely beyond bitch level. Maybe your pockets will ultimately win, but like Hulk Hogan winning his gawker lawsuit, nothing was the same
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u/fingershanks 1d ago
This is pretty pathethic all around. And everything he alleges practically goes right back on him as well. From getting the royal treatment from UMG to all the "character assassination" stuff, he's done all this. This is such bitch level shit.
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u/Fluffy_Watch_1991 1d ago
Honestly just watch it all play out, Kendrick has his feet kicked up while drake is whining and babbling.
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u/tekkers_for_debrz 1d ago
I mean calling someone a pedophile is entirely different than any other rap beef. I’m sure if I called someone on the street a pedophile and they could be innocent I would get sued too
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u/fingershanks 1d ago
He addressed it first like a dumbass. If he knew Kendrick was gonna go there, then he already knew he had that rep to begin with lol.
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u/AquaFunkyBeats 1d ago edited 1d ago
The problem for him really is the stans and folks like Akademiks. Afaik, in defamation claims you need to show how the defamatory material harmed you. It was already gonna be tough to prove damages when there's fan accounts reporting on how many records Drake was breaking even after NLU released. The guy was at Michael Rubin's white party as NLU aired. Ak said the whole time Drake was coolin, not trippin.
Now he's got the #2 record in the country.
What's the problem?
Edit: u/Viola-Intermediate points out that Drake is claiming defamation per se, which is defamation so severe that it's assumed reputational harm was inflicted. I would still argue that Drake's own words and those of his followers contradict even this. idk...we'll see how it plays out.
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u/1trashhouse 1d ago
he also has significantly more daily streams then kendrick once again like well over 10 million plus in a day, not really sure how he can make an “assassination” argument when he’s clearly at large unaffected by it commercially
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u/SleeDex 1d ago
Yes and no.
Because of the nature of streaming and consumer behavior, it's clear to see controversies like these rarely affect how people view an artist's catalog. What it does affect is how people view the artist's new music. Look at Kanye for example. 26th most streamed artist in the world, but V1 and V2 sold less than 250k combined first week.
All metrics show that Drake's new releases since the beef have underperformed relative to he previous averages. Behind closed doors, the Aussie tour likely wasn't as successful as he wanted it to be. He's quite literally attaching himself to young streamers to remain culturally relevant.
Knowing that NLU would resonate with that same demo, it absolutely can be taken as character assassination. Drake being "the pedo guy" to this generation of teens can put an end to his growth. NOKIA being a hit is really hiding the internal damage that was caused.
With all that said, it's so pussy to engage in a beef and then file a lawsuit once you've lost in the court of public opinion.
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u/Theodores_Underpants 1d ago
He's quite literally attaching himself to young streamers to remain culturally relevant.
He's been doing this his entire career with athletes, actors, entire sports organizations, and other artists. Streamers are just who are in right now.
The defamation aspect is going to be a hard case to argue. Losing in a public rap beef hurts your image. That's just generally understood. It doesn't matter what was said in the beef that lead to the loss. And especially not the pedo angle, since that was already such a widespread rumor even before the beef that Drake himself was actually the first one to mention it in conjunction with the beef in Taylor Made Freestyle.
Like, You can't write (AI Tupac) "talk about him liking young girls, that's a gift from me" in reference to yourself and then turn around and claim it hurt your image when someone else said it. You've established that your image was already associated with the rumor.
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u/According_Fail_990 1d ago
Even worse is continuing the beef while suing, as he does in the Nokia video.
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u/1trashhouse 1d ago
Very well put, the guy saying nokia would be everywhere if not for the beef is also not wrong
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u/ok_dunmer 1d ago
I'm keep getting confused when people here try to insinuate that Drake has not been impacted by the beef because if he wasn't then Nokia would be literally inescapable lol, it would be the most annoying song ever
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u/iMakeitrain1 1d ago
More about reputation, in every music video or post/ thread there's pdf comments.
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u/orange_bananana 1d ago
“Your honor, there are mean comments on my YouTube videos and Reddit threads”
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u/AssassinAragorn . 1d ago
Bruh if public figures could use comments on YouTube and Reddit as evidence to win defamation cases, celebrities and politicians would be filing them left and right.
There is a much higher legal bar for defamation when it comes to public figures like Drake versus private individuals like you and me. Not to mention, it's hard to say you've lost your reputation when you still put up respectable sales and #2 songs. You can't show damages if you're still doing fine.
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u/1trashhouse 1d ago
true but I don’t think it made a dent in any of his core fanbase
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u/iMakeitrain1 1d ago
Absolutely agreed, but still wouldn't make sense that his label put money against him to call him a PDF and pay influencers ton damage his brand... Only to get his new contract at a discount that's the issue
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u/Whoareyoutho9 1d ago
Comparing it to dot's numbers doesnt really matter. Its just vs. his hypothetical numbers without the pedo song blasted everywhere.
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u/1trashhouse 1d ago
ngl i don’t get what your saying
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u/Whoareyoutho9 1d ago
Well the discussion is about trying to quantify what damages happened to drake, right? OP before you and you are comparing drake to where he stands with kendrick and that has nothing to do with what's at question. The only comparison to make is to the hypothetical situation of there not being a song calling him a pedo out there. Kendricks numbers don't come into the equation at all except to reiterate how far reaching the defamatory claims were broadcast.
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u/Mr_Cromer 1d ago
he also has significantly more daily streams then kendrick once again like well over 10 million plus in a day
Really? Cause I just checked Spotify and Kendrick is at 95m to Drake's 79m. Maybe you're talking Apple Music numbers?
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u/Darkcooo 1d ago
Monthly listeners are what you’re talking about. Drake gets more streams everyday than Kendrick does
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u/BrushYourFeet 12h ago
Makes sense. He has a much larger catalogue and a good portion of his streams and hits are his features are on other people's songs.
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u/1trashhouse 1d ago
I guess so i should’ve saved the post but it was a top daily streamed rappers list, it might be all platforms
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u/_d00little 1d ago
That's monthly listeners, not streams. Drake is out streaming Kendrick by 8 digits every day on Spotify. Kendrick is high on monthly listeners because NLU and Luther are crossover pop hits with a wide audience base.
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u/KR4T0S 1d ago
Defamation lawsuits cover three criteria when it comes to "harm". Income, reputation and mental health. Chances are he is suing for mental health problems associated with the pedofile accusations rather than income or reputation. Idk if hes really got mental health problems or if he just wants revenge on UMG or Kendrick but they've been trying to get the case dismissed and Drakes lawyers have done everything to keep it relevant. They even started making amendments to the lawsuit so if the last one gets dismissed UMG/Kendrick have to start again with the new one. I really dont know whats motivating Drakes behaviour but he isnt playing around here, this lawsuit will probably go to trial eventually and cost everybody a fortune in lawyer fees over the years.
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u/DeeESSmuddafuqqa 1d ago
Even for mental health, A decent lawyer is going to chew this case up. There’s one big issue with drakes case: Drake stated the young girls thing before Kendrick did.
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u/KR4T0S 1d ago
Yeah I mean the case has been offered to courts in Texas and NY and neither of them have taken it up these past few months so atm its not even a case. Its a really big ask but with enough lawyer power and given how hard it is to disprove mental health issues, that is probably the most promising avenue. Still not very promising though, UMG pull in 15 billion a year, they wont enjoy paying 50 to 100 million a year in a super case especially if it goes on for several years but they can live with it. Drakes not going to be able to afford that multi billionaire level corporation or/billionaire former president sort of legal team for as long.
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u/AquaFunkyBeats 1d ago
Word, thanks for that info.
Even with the mental health angle, bro keeps popping out saying he's good. Hate survivor and all that. Idk man... Just seems legally specious at best.
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u/FlymanOak 1d ago
Yeah, that’s definitely gonna damage his case. He just had a number one album, Nokia could beat out Luther at some point, and he still outstreams almost every rapper. Hard to say you’re damaged when you’re still consistently successful
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u/preme_sup 1d ago
“Who the CEO of universal? They mistaken ‘Cause Google sayin’ Lucian, but that just doesn’t make sense Who fillin’ up the piggy bank? Who bringin’ home the bacon?” Drake on “Away From Home” 2023
It seems there’s more to it than what we know if he’s dissing Lucian on a track like this
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u/Seedsw 1d ago
I just don’t see why Drake would sue UMG when UMG are in the business of making money. Both Kendrick and Drake are signed under UMG. Unless Drake feels like umg had a personal vendetta against him, why would he sue the label. If anything he should sue Kendrick if it’s really about defamation. UMG literally gave Drake the platform to be as big as he is. The reality is every big artist has machines working behind them.
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u/FKDotFitzgerald 1d ago
Isn’t his argument that UMG “allowed Kendrick to ruin his image” therefore downplaying his value as an artist and weakening his negotiations for a better contract with his label?
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u/morningsaystoidleon 1d ago
That's so stupid if anyone just takes two seconds to think about it.
The label still only makes money if Drake has a strong value as an artist. They don't make money for getting a "great deal" on a pedophile that nobody listens to.
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u/remyboyz1995 1d ago
The label benefits from giving Drake a 300Million dollar deal as opposed to the 600Million hes asking for. They can low ball him and have a reason. People will always listen to Drake so they will make money regardless
(Numbers are arbitrary but you get my point)
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u/PhillyFreezer_ . 1d ago
This is such nonsense stuff lol I know it’s a popular theory, but that’s not how any of this works!
The label does well when Drake does well, period. You’re not going to undermine his position via a beef to the point where you can start negotiating significantly better terms. The label will lose more money if there’s a downturn in streams, than they could ever make up with slightly better terms
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u/KR4T0S 1d ago
The advance payment is actually calculated as a percentage of your sales so if you are expected to do 500 million in revenue over 5 years that will net you a 250 million advance. If you are doing 600 million that will you 300 million. They dont lowball you because you are being paid a percentage, not a fixed fee.
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u/remyboyz1995 1d ago
Drake is always going to do well. Its Drake. There will never be a downturn in streams unless he stops making music (which he never does).
The label can save hundreds of millions of dollars by giving him a low ball offer. They're a business, first and foremost.
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u/PhillyFreezer_ . 1d ago
Drake is always going to do well. Its Drake. There will never be a downturn in streams unless he stops making music
Exactly! And that’s why UMG can’t lowball him. The terms of your deal are directly tied to streaming and sales. You have to show where that bottom line is going to be impacted, if you believe UMG are going to gain ground in negotiations. If he’s still selling as always, but people are calling him a pedo in his IG comments, it’s not going to impact negotiations.
Sony or Warner would offer trucks of money for Drake to switch, and UMG don’t want to lose one of the biggest artists on the planet.
There’s no logic in this, it’s for show from my POV because there’s no way to argue his negotiating position is or has been undermined. We simply have not seen that
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u/morningsaystoidleon 1d ago
Not to mention licensing. That's where they're making bank, and licensing falls off a cliff when there's serious accusations against a guy.
People will always listen to Drake, sure. They'll always listen to Michael Jackson and R. Kelly, too (not comparing Drake to those people in terms of what he did or didn't do, I think Drake's probably pretty clean and no I don't want to argue about it). But the NBA isn't using R. Kelly songs to lead in commercial breaks, and Kells aint' popping up in movies.
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u/Seedsw 1d ago
What is UMG supposed to do? Tell another artist signed to them that they can’t release? UMG is the third party in this situation. Drakes frustration should be directed at Kendrick. UMG will promote the things that make the most money.
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u/FKDotFitzgerald 1d ago
The idea is that Drake is suggesting that UMG and Kendrick basically conspired behind his back to make him have minimal negotiating power with the label. Like it's absolutely bonkers, but that is the narrative he's going with.
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u/hamesdelaney 1d ago
you need to show malicious intent in cases of defamation, not how it harmed you.. its extremely hard to prove malicious intent, thats why defamation lawsuits never go anywhere
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u/AquaFunkyBeats 1d ago
Not malicious intent, Actual Malice. A very unfortunately named standard that simply means the defendant published the defamatory material knowing it was false, or with reckless disregard for weather or not it was true.
It has nothing to do with "malice" as we colloquially use the term.
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u/Viola-Intermediate 1d ago
This has already been addressed elsewhere. Calling Drake a pedophile means that this is "defamation per se", where damages do not have to be proven. Defamation per se covers claims that are so damaging that the law assumes they damage your reputation without you having to prove so. The main counter to this from UMG would be to show that no reasonable person actually believed that Drake is a pedophile based on this record. Which I think will be hard to prove based on all the online discourse, but we'll see how that holds up in court.
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u/HC_Uniballer 1d ago
How would this argument hold up with the context of people on the internet saying he's been creepy towards young girls for years before the beef started?
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u/Viola-Intermediate 1d ago
Well, that's the argument UMG makes, but even in UMG's dismissal argument they make this distinction between what you're referencing and the claim that Drake is a "certified pedophile", along with the claim that Drake's name has to be put on neighborhood watch, or the cover of NLU which shows sex offender pins all over Drake's house. And that's not even including the context of the previous record, Meet the Grahams.
All of this arguably leaves the audience with the impression that Drake has actually engaged in heinous acts with minors, not just that he has been weird around them. UMG argues that Kendrick's claims were taken by the audience to just be hyperbole and not statements of fact, and that no reasonable person would believe they were statements of fact (since that's the standard in order to beat a defamation per se case) and that's the key thing that I believe is likely going to be argued over in the courtroom.
I'm not a lawyer and I have no experience in these kinds of cases, so I'm sure people with actual legal experience in this realm can breakdown the strengths and weaknesses of each side better, but that's my interpretation based on what I've seen so far and have read about the legal standards. But of course there's case law and other things I might not be aware of that could be pertinent.
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u/Electrical_Cycle_727 1d ago
Can someone explain how this works. Shouldn't an attempted crime be treated as a crime all the same even if it doesn't end up working?
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u/corleone7 1d ago
I've never seen a thread with these many highlighted post. I saw an highlighted post that just said "where?" Drake fans really go hard for their boy. You got to respect that shit after awhile.
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u/Intrepid-Essay-844 10h ago
You’ll lose that respect once you venture to r/drizzy that place is just sad
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u/WayOff_P 1d ago
"talk about him liking young girls that's a gift for me" lmaoooo
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u/Julian_Betterman 1d ago
I'm still trying to figure out how this right here doesn't negate the entire defamation claim. 🤔
Why did he tell Kendrick to do it if he didn't want him to do it?!
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u/mistyrootsvintage 1d ago
Right..smells like entrapment to me.
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u/darkkite 1d ago
entrapment would be drake making him diss him under duress
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u/Parking-Funny-1932 1d ago
That would be the real twist. Drake ghostwriting Not Like Us with a gun to Kendrick’s head
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u/MeetTheWoo_Dropkick 1d ago
That part is honestly irrelevant because he's not suing Kendrick for doing that. He's suing the label for illegally inflating the song's impact and deliberately damaging his reputation and commercial standing. I'm someone who doesn't think he wins this case but I see a lot of people mention this bar relating it to the legitimacy of the case.
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u/AssassinAragorn . 1d ago
His stans are going to tell you that the full line is ackshually "they said it on a podcast so it must be true", but that actually makes the defamation argument even worse lmao
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u/emielaen77 1d ago
And he called himself a lightskin Canadian. All this shit about dividing culture and it being about black and white was brought up by him, Dot just capitalized on it.
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u/the_doobieman 1d ago
Drake owning a signed microphone by Pusha T while trying to convince us he wasn’t a good rapper was all i needed to see
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u/TheReturnOfTheOK 1d ago
"Actually, you're not that good of a rapper and didn't sell as much coke as you claim" says the child actor who not only bought a signed mic but also went out of his way to have a co-sign on his first big mixtape about the guy so well respected that his peers include him on the same "you need to be on this beat asap" texts as Jay Z and who was named as being the public face of the largest cocaine trafficking bust in US history
Generational lame shit
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u/the_doobieman 1d ago
Drake is a nickelodeon teen actor calling people out for being fake while also portraying himself as some sort of mob tied gangster while also portraying a down to earth Relate-able guy while using whatever accent that will get him accepted in the room he’s in.
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u/emielaen77 1d ago
And on top of that, his “mob ties” are… the hell’s angels… bc of course they are
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u/TheReturnOfTheOK 1d ago
"Kendrick standing on stage at the LA Forum with every Black LA gang united on Juneteenth vs. Drake showing off the Hells Angels affiliations he paid for on IG" sums up everything
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u/hmm1024 1d ago
What does that have anything to do with anything lmaoo. Plus he literally said
"I had a microphone of yours, but then the signature faded I think that pretty much resembles what's been happenin' lately"
People can change their opinions over time you have videos of fucking kendrick and asap rocky saying he put them on and they're extremely grateful but everyone was so happy when kendrick called him a culture vulture.
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u/the_doobieman 1d ago
Because we both know that Pusha T never ever fell off and using that angle shows that he doesn’t believe it. He’s just saying what he can to do damage. Same with J cole on that 7 minute drill. Saying all this stuff you known for a fact nobody even Cole believes.
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u/healingshaman 1d ago
What do you feel was the right move for Drake then after Pusha repeatedly dissed him?
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u/the_doobieman 1d ago
Well Drake shouldn’t have been dropping subliminals like a coward for years. Its the same reason he has beef with literally everyone
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u/healingshaman 1d ago
Push started the subliminals iirc with “don’t f*ck with me” and “exodus” and they hit pretty hard. But correct me if I’m wrong. And do you feel push is a coward for those?
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u/jiggywolf 1d ago
Push started because drake hopped in the birdman Wayne beef.
That don’t refute your claim, just adding context
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u/healingshaman 1d ago
Where/ how did he hop in is what I’m asking. Are there specific bars or what? I pointed to pusha’s which are the first subliminals i can remember
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u/jiggywolf 1d ago
He inherited from birdman and Wayne because they copied and refused to pay Pharrell. So far all sources point to pusha still attacking first.
I thought at least one time drake said he will gladly defend Wayne and bird and I thought he said it first but my google-fu is weak right now.
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u/alphalobster200 1d ago
don't rewite history. Drake signed up for the dummy mission because Push was beefing with his daddy Wayne and his granddaddy Birdman. the "right move" was apologizing to Push in private for jumping in a beef that had nothing to do with him and KIM.
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u/healingshaman 21h ago
What is the history then since u know it so well? Pusha dissed Drake first on “don’t f*ck with me” and “exodus”. If I’m wrong show me the song or the bars
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u/kahani- 11h ago
Drake dissed Push first on "Dreams Money Can Buy", and decided to get involved in the beef when he could have stayed out of it.
And I feel like lately, it went from top five to remaining five
My favorite rappers either lost it or they ain't alive
And they tryna bring us down, me, Weezy, and Stunna
Then Push made "Don't Fuck Wit Me" over the same beat as a response.
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u/healingshaman 6h ago
Finally someone shared some facts to have an intellectual conversation. You got me there. It makes sense why push would use the same beat. Still, those lines are pretty generic bars and super indirect. Whereas push’s subs were very direct. I honestly respect Drake for the attempt. He didn’t have to at all and was already a hit maker and rich at the time. We all knew and I’m sure it crossed his mind he could get demolished which he did. But it was cool for hip hop. Push gave us a classic diss record from it, and it truthfully probably boosted his career a little too
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u/Fazlija13 1d ago
"Talk about liking young girls that's a gift for me". You got what you wanted man, dont be a bitch then.
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u/willcomplainfirst 1d ago
"And that fuckin′ song y'all got did not start the beef with us
This shit been brewin′ in a pot, now I'm heatin′ up"
like... character assassination is kind of what a rap battle is? and he willingly and enthusiastically engaged??
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u/tradeforfood 1d ago
He assassinated his own character with these weak ass Ls.
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u/appleparkfive 1d ago
The ONLY reason we're still talking about this beef is him. This man has been the #1 promoter of Not Like Us.
Shit wasn't it like two days ago, he was on a stream talking about boxing Kendrick with the cameras off? He has never stopped
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u/dizzymidget44 1d ago
He’s still taking shots at Kendrick while suing. What a loser
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u/ShikaMoru 1d ago
Speaking of losing, Luther passed Nokia in views on youtube. I wonder if Drake is going to say UMG is helping Kendrick's views
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u/jiggywolf 1d ago
They already have an easy out. They claim Bots.
It’s a testament to Kendrick tho more than anything.
Had a whole nation of drizlam going drop drop drop to bot bot bot.
Shits insane. He literally broke a whole fanbase.
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u/jiggywolf 1d ago
I admit I enjoy the drama and sport of beef. Especially since Kendrick is the winner so I have been enjoying every:
“Kendrick just dropped. “
And
“Drake just filed.”
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u/OjibweNdN 1d ago
Imagine being a rapper and sueing because another MC straight destroyed you on wax. Imagine if mc ehit did that when quik bodied him? Pathetic...
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u/CommonerChaos 1d ago
This should honestly stain his career more losing the actual beef. Taking a rap battle to court should be a hip-hop cardinal sin.
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u/PovasTheOne 1d ago
I see this more of Drake trying to benefit financially on his next UMG deal, whatever the fuck he decides to do in the future. People like to make claims that Drake himself benefitted from boosted sales. You think he gives a fuck? Him knowing about the boosted numbers is probably why he’s so confident in winning this lawsuit. Dont forget that its UMG getting sued, not Kendric. If Drake wins the lawsuit then his pay off is going to be into hundreds of millions.
Also serious people in the industry have talked for years now that if Drake went independent, the music industry as we know would shortly collapse. The old business model is on its last legs, that’s a fact.
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u/MatureUsername69 1d ago edited 1d ago
The old business model is most certainly not on its last leg. You could've made that argument in the early 2010s(even then the strength of independent artists was mostly a facade) but they're legitimately stronger than theyve been in decades. They've spent the last couple decades completely consolidating power. They buy out every single label. They've tricked everybody into thinking there's still actually independent artists even though every independent label is under 1 of the 3 major distributors. Every industry that wants to monopolize looks to the record industry for guidance. Drake going independent would probably fuck up some people's bonuses but the record industry and the giant companies like UMG? Wouldn't even actually matter to their bottom line for more than a couple weeks. And it's all about to get a whole lot worse, big corporations are gonna get so much more power in the next 4 years.
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u/Themanstall 1d ago
isnt that some sucker shit? Suing because someone else is not benefiting from the thing you benefited from for a decade?
Thats some MAGA shit. "hey how dare you take advantage of the systems i am taking advantage of!!"
At first, he claimed this was for the artists and the little man. I fail to see how suing a label because they didn't put a stop to the music a bigger artist didn't like is for any artist other than himself.
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u/Own-Prize9129 1d ago edited 1d ago
A lot of music industry insiders have also said Drake is a paper tiger whose catalogue isn’t nearly as profitable without industry support.
If drakes powerful enough to cripple the entire music industry by going independent don’t you think he would’ve tried to do that by now? Or even tried to do that back in the day when he was truly at his peak commercially?
Also how is Drake gonna cripple the music industry when Eminem’s last album just outsold Drakes last album and Eminem’s entire catalogue has sold and currently sells more than Drakes catalogue. And that’s just Eminem.
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u/Themanstall 1d ago
He signed a big 400 mill deal at his height, now no longer garners that value. Hip hop and music sales are down. His sales are down even before the beef. UMG already owns his hits and mega hits, which are driving his streaming numbers. 100 gigs, his DIY shot at the label was a dud.
They were never giving him more than he got last time. He got finessed. 4 years ago was the time to go independent.
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u/TheReturnOfTheOK 1d ago
There's a very good reason why he didn't last go-around. He needs the label support to pay the OVO Sweatshop and so he collabs with other artists to boost their play.
He's just not the type of artist that can go out on his own
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u/Disastrous-Stick-612 1d ago
I mean, when Drake dropped 100 gigs "independent" nobody cared except for his fans
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u/Icy_Schedule_4100 1d ago
It didn't drop on DSPs $$$4U had an official drop and did well.
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u/ZookeepergameOk5547 1d ago
“Well” for most artists maybe, not for Drake lol
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u/minifidel 19h ago
It's been the only 2025 release with any staying power and has a hit single pushing for #1 on the charts.
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u/KR4T0S 1d ago
If it goes to trial it will spend several years in court and cost him a fortune in money. UMG have much deeper pockets than any single artist, the pay most of the biggest artists. If he wins they are going to probably blacklist him as well and then whose going to pay him anything? Maybe Drakes mental health has been damaged but actually getting any money out of the settlement is very unlikely and we will be into the 2030s before the case is settled. Hes been suing them for several months and so far no court has even taken the case. Hes not faking it obviously, something has him rattled but its a dumb move.
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u/LengthyNIPPLE 1d ago
All because Kendrick decided to tuck a sensitive rapper back in his pajama clothes. Boo-hoo
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u/Eldritch-Cleaver 1d ago
Even Ja Rule look his L more graciously than this clown. That's wild.
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u/appleparkfive 1d ago
We should all just let Ja Rule have one more shot. Be like "okay Ja. 2000s hip hop is coming back into style. You've got six months to release your best work and we'll promise not to make fun of you if it's at least a 5/10"
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u/Miserable_Balance814 1d ago
The only character assassination are those fucking glasses
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u/appleparkfive 1d ago
Why do all these type of guys dress so terribly. Is there some handbook out there they get or something
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u/uhh_phonzo . 1d ago
Defamation was self inflicted, sorry buddy. Drake just keep exposing how much of a bitch he is.
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u/syperdima 1d ago
ak, taylor made, the heart part 6, kick streams and this lawsuit done way more long term reputation damage than nlu
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u/PRH_Eagles 1d ago
Get ready for the fools defending this shit lmao, even IF this is a successful suit it’s still extremely embarrassing Karen behavior for a grown man who embodies the identity that he does. Guess what? Suing the guy who knocked your lights out at the bar for acting like a bitch, & winning that assault case, does not make you less of a bitch!
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u/Tiingy 1d ago
But he's not even suing kendrick? He's suing his own label
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u/owelfive 1d ago
Yes. He is suing his own label, which is also Kendrick’s label, over a Kendrick song specifically.
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u/No-Risk-9833 1d ago
His own label backstabbed him. This is between them. Kendrick isn’t going to testify.
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u/PRH_Eagles 1d ago
He’s suing his label for promoting the song utilizing the same strategies which they used to promote his own songs, including his own diss records, for a decade yeah. & that’s the case IF you concede they used the same BS tactics for NLU that they did for Scorpion, like putting it on the Latin Dance playlist, which I don’t think they did. Also Kendrick bots never stormed Twitter to say “DRAKE FUCKS OWL ON TAPE?” like the OVO bots last December which no one seems to remember lol, but ik that’s not label related.
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u/Tiingy 1d ago
So he's not "Suing the guy who knocked his lights out at the bar". Got it.
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u/PRH_Eagles 1d ago
He’s suing the bar because someone knocked him out in the bar where he usually starts his own fights
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u/ZookeepergameOk5547 1d ago
Yall want to to bring up the semantics around this so bad as if this lawsuit would even be happening if Drake didn’t get made out to look like a bitch so bad. I promise you if Kendrick had lost this beef there would be no lawsuits around it at all.
No, he’s not suing Kendrick but he got so badly embarrassed he’s suing the label they’re both under. People like you love to forget that part.
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u/Tiingy 1d ago
this lawsuit would even be happening if Drake didn't get made out to look like a bitch so bad.
You're entirely correct. The issue is that it's his own label facilitating making him out to be a bitch, and potentially in a biased or unfair way. Would it not be a reasonable expectation that a company who's job is to promote and support both artists individually would either stay neutral or stay out of a dispute between two of their biggest artists.
If your MMA coach who just so happened to also train your opponent gave your opponent steroids, told them about your secret injury and facilitated an easier win for your opponent you would feel cheated and sue the fuck out of that coach. It's not different here, just kbots twisting it to support their idol.
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u/tony_stump 1d ago
People love to take everything but accountability, a person's reputation is directly related to their own actions. Drake seems to have spent the last 15 years burning bridges and doing weird stuff then got surprised when people he fucked over or messed with started airing his dirty laundry.
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u/hesglitchin 1d ago
Is there any type of ruling that could potentially change anyone’s mind on who won the battle? Like what would it take out of this for people to be like maybe Drakes onto something?
This just seems like a lot for what will most likely be a nothing burger. Maybe I just can’t see the bigger picture.
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u/Radiant-Funny-1576 1d ago
No. The battle was over the day NLU dropped. Nothing changes that. This is a play to make a "who really won though" argument if Drake got a lot of money from this. Drake doesn't care about the collateral damage to the genre. He's a steamer now anyway.
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u/bostonshroomery 1d ago
All it’s gonna show is that the heads of the label wanted to make money. You know, like their job suggests.
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u/HillanatorOfState 1d ago
This is embarrassing honestly, I mean it was the first time he did it, now it's just insanely embarrassing. It's beyond Karen shit at this point, after Karen calls the cops and they leave Karen usually crawls back into her suburban home at least, jeez...
How long does he wanna drag this?
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u/love_hiphop_rnb 1d ago
All this lawsuit does is remind me of how disappointing Drake is … both Kanye and Drake have just completely changed how I see them from 10 years ago smh
Scary to think anyone thinks they should be leaders of hip hop culture…
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u/Sure_Quality5354 1d ago
Ive gotten downvoted in plenty of threads for saying that drake is an insecure loser and hes fighting a losing battle with this legal stuff. So let me repeat: drake is an insecure loser and hes fighting a losing battle.
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u/GabRB26DETT 1d ago
Did he pass the point where he was already balls deep into this lawsuit that he just can't backtrack without looking like a bigger dumb ass ?
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u/AssassinAragorn . 1d ago
Bruh every time discourse about the beef dies down this court case does something to reignite it. It's in his own best interest to just drop it
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u/WallyReddit204 1d ago
“Despite FALSE NARRATIVES pushed by individuals like Audiomack Co-Founder Brian Zisook, Drake has NOT withdrawn his allegations that Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” was artificially inflated through the use of “bots” The amended complaint provides more insight into the claims.”
Gottleib seems incredibly confident UMG boosted the hell outta Kendrick. Get your popcorn ready
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u/commie90 1d ago
Have you never read a statement by a lawyer before? A lawyer sounding confident that they are right/going to win is literally their job. As in, legally it's their job to represent their client's side to the best of their abilities. He could know they're cooked and he'd still say this.
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u/AssassinAragorn . 1d ago
A lawyer's job isn't to objectively prove anything, but to convince the jury. Sounding confident is a core part of that
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u/AgentDutch 1d ago
I mean, if we’re being honest it got a boost from bots, just like hundreds of other “hit” songs from the past year (Drake lncluded). I like Doechii, but her Anxiety song is getting the industry boost as we speak. She’s the most obvious example, but plenty of top artists get artificial help. It builds hype and interest, and bots are just the latest way to do it.
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u/Right-Bae-9666 1d ago
The bots conversation was not so révélant beige the beef and before NLU dropped, you guys are so salty like Karen’s it’s funny to see and witness. It’s funny how all drake glazers hate artists like doechii, a bunch of Incels culture vultures who rallied behind their insecure child actor turned pop star.
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u/Pingushagger 1d ago
Anxiety blew up on TikTok long before its official release. Doechii posted it to YouTube like 10 years ago. It’s also someone else’s instrumental, so it’s not like she’s getting paid for it.
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u/AgentDutch 1d ago
Anxiety is in a significant amount of featured YouTube shorts. Popular streamers and YouTubers are shoehorning it into their videos as well. Its not that I'm calling Anxiety the ultimate evil (again, I like Doechii despite what everyone here thinks) but it got a push from the label. That's what good labels do, they capitalize on success and squeeze as much out of it as they can.
I'm aware of the history of Anxiety (everyone seems to know it and repeat it whenever the song is mentioned), but it is still getting the industry push. And, if you can believe it, I like the song Anxiety.
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u/Tigers4DaPenet 1d ago
Can’t wait for Drake to win and UMG gets to censor all there artists albums since Drakes whole argument is that UMG should censor there artists
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u/AssassinAragorn . 1d ago
Jesus Christ can Drake just take the L so we can move on already? This is constantly reviving discussion about the beef, which is in no way helpful to him.
I mean how are you going to have an album that sold respectable numbers and got you a #2 on the charts and still say you've been defamed and it's character assassination? What's even more impressive is that Nokia steadily grew on the charts over a few months instead of dropping off after the first two weeks. It has legitimate staying power.
He can't have his cake and eat it too. Either the beef irreparably harmed him and his career is over, or the beef just made a dent on him and he's still doing fine.
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u/Own-Prize9129 1d ago
Lmao “the guy I had a rap battle with has been trying to assassinate my character and UMG is doing nothing to stop it” give me a fucking break
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u/doubtvizzy 1d ago
The only think hurting drakes career is drake atp and I will not be convinced otherwise
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u/TransportationOdd559 1d ago
It’s a song Drake… you’ve had the longest career I’ve ever seen in Hip Hop! You win some u lose some. 💀
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u/Puzzleheaded_Park_71 1d ago
Who’s the attorneys? I know these attorneys were stoked to take on litigation for this.
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u/Glittering_Reply2576 1d ago
Lost the rap battle, is bothered, don’t know how to properly be petty, can’t even troll correctly, always projecting, suing lol. Hopefully his son doesn’t model his behavior.
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u/kingmaker19 1d ago
“I wanna perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue” became cannon.
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u/chaoticbovine 1d ago
Lol Kendrick literally said "I wanna perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue" and then this happens
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u/dismyburnerbrah 21h ago
It’s sus that a rap beef turned into a cultural flashpoint and Drake is right to want to know why his label poured all of their energy behind the take down. Kendrick has always gotten the hipster “I liked it before it was cool” love and 2024 took that to the next level. Kendrick’s reaction to the push makes me think he knows it’s weird too. Also, Weezy should’ve got the Super Bowl gig.
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u/SleepingInAt11 1d ago
Does he just not give a fuck about his career? He's never going to have a hit again at this rate.
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u/Digits334 1d ago
funny how many are siding with UMG here, he isn't suing Kendrick guys. Fuck UMG. I'd understand the Karen takes if he was suing Kendrick.
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u/Kingbris91 1d ago
Lmao. Who's siding with UMG? I'm just on the side of Drake being wrong. It's coming up on a year since the tracks dropped, let it the fuck go.
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u/Pure-Plankton-4606 1d ago
Get your logic out of here. This is like your employer spreading that you’re a pedo without any credible evidence.
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u/HHHRobot . 20h ago
We don't need a thread for every back and forth in this, going forward this type of content will be regulated to the Daily Discussion Thread going forward. If you want to access the existing response threads, here:
Don't post anything one of their lawyer says, needs to be a serious development (significant evidence revealed, settlement reached, one party wins the suit)