As revealed by Billboard on Friday (Dec. 20), Spotify fired back at Drake’s accusations of collusion with Universal Music Group (UMG) to artificially boost Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” single. According to the publication, the streaming giant filed a response in a Manhattan court that labeled claims of orchestrating an illegal scheme as “false.” The ongoing dispute represents an extraordinary twist in the highly publicized feud between Drake and Lamar, which played out in a series of diss songs throughout the year.

Spotify stated that it found “zero evidence” to support the allegations. “The predicate of petitioner’s entire request for discovery from Spotify is false,” the company’s lawyers wrote. “Spotify and UMG have never had any such arrangement.” Furthermore, the company dismissed the litigation as “far-fetched” and questioned why it was being dragged into what it described as a “long-running feud” between the Canadian rapper, his Compton peer and the umbrella label both artists are signed to.

“What petitioner is seeking to do here ... is to bypass the normal pleading requirements ... and obtain by way of pre-action discovery that which it would only be entitled to seek were it to survive a motion to dismiss,” Spotify’s legal team added. “This subversion of the normal judicial process should be rejected.”

As REVOLT previously reported, Drake claimed that UMG and Spotify violated the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by inflating plays for Lamar’s song. He also stated that Spotify offered reduced licensing fees in exchange for promoting the track. Separately, Drake filed a related petition in Texas, which claimed UMG damaged his image by publishing a song that “falsely” labeled him a “sex offender.”

While UMG has yet to respond in court, the company previously dismissed Drake’s allegations as “offensive and untrue.” In a statement, the “Big Three” entity said, “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.” Spotify echoed this sentiment. “The Petition asserts no specific facts of any kind in support of these alleged RICO and deceptive practices violations,” it stated. “Instead, it relies exclusively on speculation ... or the claims of anonymous individuals on the internet.”

Billboard noted that Spotify took particular issue with the allegations of bot use. “When we identify attempted stream manipulation, we take action that may include removing streaming numbers, withholding royalties and charging penalty fees,” wrote Vice President of Music David Kaefer in an affidavit. “Confirmed and suspected artificial streams are also removed from our chart calculations. This helps us to protect royalty payouts for honest, hardworking artists.”

A spokesperson for Drake and his legal team has yet to comment on the new development.