Can Drake And Kendrick Sue Each Other For Defamation Over Ugly Diss Track Allegations?

After an ugly weekend of crossfire, the beef Kendrick Lamar and Drake now includes unproven accusations of spousal abuse, drug use and even pedophilia. These claims may be “slander” to many people, but they are defamatory? We asked the legal experts.

The long-running feud between the two hip-hop heavyweights erupted into nuclear fever on Friday when Drake released a piece claiming Lamar had abused his fiancee. Minutes later, Lamar responded with accusations of addictions, hidden children and plastic surgery. The next day he dropped another song accusing Drake and others of pedophilia.

With the allegations getting wilder by the minute, viewers on social media began to wonder if any rapper – but Kendrick in particular – could be bracing themselves for more than another scathing response: “Has anyone ever filed a lawsuit for defamation for a diss track in the past ? Matt Ford jokedlegal reporter at New Democracyon Saturday night.

An actual lawsuit seems unlikely, for the simple reason that any rapper responding to a diss track with a team of lawyers would be killing himself over reputation. But let's play it out: Could a rapper like Drake or Kendrick be sued for the scathing insults we saw this weekend?

While diss tracks filled with highly specific invective (and we mean extremely) could certainly lead to a defamation lawsuit in theory, legal experts say Advertising sign that such a case would face not only legal challenges but also practical problems. First and foremost? That the accuser will open herself up to painful discovery by opposing counsel.

“Any plaintiff who sues for defamation puts their entire life and reputation on the line,” says Dori Hanswirth, a veteran litigator who heads the media law practice at the law firm Arnold & Porter. “If someone decided to sue for a statement that they victimized underage women, for example, then that person's entire dating history would be fair game at trial.”

While the term “slander” gets thrown around a lot on the internet these days, it's actually legal defamation it is very difficult to prove in America, thanks to the First Amendment and its strong protections for free speech. To win a case requires the accuser to prove that a statement about him was actually false. Mere statements of opinion do not count, nor do bombastic exaggerations.

“The audience … needs to believe that the speaker is serious and not just throwing insults in an argument,” says Hanswirth. “If the statements are not taken literally, then they are rhetorical exaggeration and are not considered defamatory. The context of this song-by-song grudge match tends to support the idea that this is rhetorical and a creative way to get even with an opponent.”

Another legal hurdle is that both Drake and Kendrick are so-called public figures—a situation that makes it very difficult to win a defamation lawsuit. Under historic US Supreme Court precedent, a public figure must show that his alleged defamer acted with “actual malice,” meaning that he knew his statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.

In practice, the “actual malice” rule has made it almost impossible for famous people to sue for libel. And this is by design. Without strong protections, defamation lawsuits would allow government officials, business leaders and other powerful people to harass and silence anyone who criticizes them, stifling free speech on important public issues.

“The Supreme Court has held that this heightened standard always applies when the plaintiff is a public figure and is designed to promote vigorous expression and debate,” said Adam I. Rich, a music and First Amendment attorney at the Davis Wright law firm. Tremaine.

So what's the verdict? No matter how bad the insults between Drake and Kendrick get, it looks like the beef between them will likely remain in the form of a verse rather than legal shorthand.

“As a lawyer and as a fan,” says Rich, “I hope Drake and Kendrick turn down the heat and play the next round in the studio, not the courtroom.”