In January, Drake filed a lawsuit his label Universal Music Group (UMG) for defamation after alleging for several months they artificially inflated the popularity of Kendrick Lamar's popular diss track, "Not Like Us".

On Sunday, February 9, the night of K.Dot's Super Bowl LIX Half-Time Show, the Canadian rapper doubled down on his initial claim. His team issued an official statement to the press claiming UMG was knowingly profiting off allegedly false claims of pedophilia and child abuse. This statement was released hours before Lamar's performance even began, VIBE reports.

At 6:06 pm ET (before the Super Bowl kick-off), music reporter Joe Coscarelli published an official statement by Drake's legal team regarding the Half-Time Show. "UMG is masquerading as a champion of artistic freedom by calling its actions merely ‘entertainment,’ but there is nothing entertaining about pedophilia or child abuse in the real world,” they wrote.

“We are confident that the evidence we will ultimately present at trial—including information we’ve already learned and continue to receive since filing the lawsuit—will expose UMG’s gross prioritization of its own corporate profits and executive bonuses over its exclusively signed artists’ well-being and the truth.”

Lamar also anticipated a reaction from the artist and folded it into his performance later that evening. (The show began at 8:30 pm ET.) He first teased the inevitable during a brief pause in his set, where he walked over to a group of his backup dancers and said, "I want to perform their favorite song, but you know they love to sue." He then played the iconic intro of the diss track before joking, "Aw maybe I'll think about it," and instead sang "Luther" with special guest SZA.

K.Dot finally performed the five-time Grammy Award-winning track, censoring some of the more brutal lyrics for broadcast television. He did not finish the line "Certified Lover Boy / Certified pedophile," for instance. Lamar did, however, address Drake directly by looking into the camera while rapping, "Say Drake, I heard you like 'em young," and he was joined by seemingly the whole stadium in singing the infamous "A minooooooooor" lyric. (He also wore a chain with a giant lowercase 'a' pendant, which many saw as a reference to the lyric.) Tennis legend Serena Williams — notably the subject of many one-sided romance Drake songs despite her insisting their friendship, according to Newsweek — also made a surprise appearance to Crip walk during the anthemic "They not like us" chorus.

Drake officially sued his label last month, claiming "Not Like Us" was "intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile." His team emphasized that the lawsuit is not about a simple rap beef, or "the artist who created 'Not Like Us'." (They are not suing Kendrick Lamar.) Instead, they argue that it was a strategic move on UMG's part to profit off his humiliation during important contract negotiations with the label. "By devaluing Drake’s music and brand, UMG would gain leverage to force Drake to sign a new deal on terms more favorable to UMG,” the suit wrote.

UMG has not issued a response to Drake's February 9 statement, but they still show no signs of changing their initial opinion that his claims are "absurd."