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Rich Polk / Contributor via Getty Images, Arturo Holmes/MG23 / Contributor via Getty Images, and Cole Burston / Contributor via Getty Images
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Conan O’Brien, Kendrick Lamar and Drake
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Some Hip Hop fans may be somewhat ready to move on from Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” — the 2024 anthem that stayed hot well into this year, thanks in part to the Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show — but Hollywood isn’t quite done with it. On Sunday (March 2) night, at the 2025 Oscars, Conan O’Brien couldn’t help but reference the Compton emcee’s beef with Drake.
“We’re halfway through the show, which means it’s time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a pedophile,” the comedian and event host joked in reference to Lamar performing “Not Like Us” at his halftime show in February. The track is coming off the heels of winning five Grammy Awards and going No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Mustard-produced track infamously contained the line, “Certified Lover Boy? Certified pedophiles.”
“Don’t worry, I’m lawyered up,” O’Brien continued, seemingly referencing Drake suing Universal Music Group, both the Toronto native and Lamar’s record label, reportedly for distributing the song despite its “unmistakable and false factual allegation” that he was a “criminal pedophile.” Drake and the music conglomerate are set to begin their pretrial conference on April 2.
More About Drake’s Lawsuit Against Universal Music Group
Though it might seem logical for Drake to sue Lamar over the song, given that he’s the one who actually rapped the lyrics, that’s not the case. Instead, the OVO Sound label head is directing all his legal efforts at UMG, arguing that their alleged attempt to “devalue Drake’s music and brand” was meant to pressure him into re-signing under terms more favorable to them.
“This lawsuit is not about the artist who created ‘Not Like Us,’” the legal documents read. “It is, instead, entirely about UMG, the music company that decided to publish, promote, exploit and monetize allegations that it understood were not only false but dangerous.”
Conan O’Brien’s “Pedophile” Joke About Drake Still Stings
Sure, O’Brien might be late to the party — months behind all the celebrities and internet personalities who ran with the “Not Like Us” jokes — but that doesn’t make his jab at Drake any less painful. The self-coined 6 God is not above a petty jab himself, so it’s possible he might fire back in a track down the line or via his burner Instagram account.
