Oct 9 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Manhattan on

Thursday dismissed superstar rapper Drake's defamation lawsuit

over Kendrick Lamar's diss track "Not Like Us" against Universal

Music Group, which releases both artists' music.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas said Lamar's lyrics

accusing Drake of being a pedophile were not defamatory because

they were "nonactionable opinion".

"Although the accusation that Plaintiff is a pedophile is

certainly a serious one, the broader context of a heated rap

battle, with incendiary language and offensive accusations

hurled by both participants, would not incline the reasonable

listener to believe that 'Not Like Us' imparts verifiable

facts," Vargas said.

A spokesperson for Drake said on Friday that he intends to

appeal the decision.

UMG said it was pleased by the dismissal.

"From the outset, this suit was an affront to all artists

and their creative expression and never should have seen the

light of day," UMG said in a statement.

The company said it looked forward to "continuing our work

successfully promoting Drake's music and investing in his

career."

Lamar and Drake, whose given name is Aubrey Drake Graham,

have been engaged in a long-running feud with several

high-profile diss tracks against each other. Drake sued UMG in

January based on its promotion of "Not Like Us," arguing the

song's false accusation that the Canadian rapper is a pedophile

put him and his family in danger.

Music industry publications have said Drake did not sue

Lamar directly because the First Amendment of the U.S.

Constitution offers strong protections for individual creative

expression. Drake argued UMG was responsible for distributing

and profiting from the song.

"Not Like Us" won Grammy Awards in February for record and

song of the year. It spent two weeks at the top of Billboard's

Hot 100 in 2024 and another week at No. 1 after Lamar performed

it at this year's Super Bowl halftime show.