Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge is responding to Drake’s request to review his emails during the ongoing lawsuit regarding Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” describing the demand as “farcical” and “ridiculous.”

In a sharp declaration submitted to the court on Thursday, Grainge stated that it “makes no sense whatsoever” for the leader of the world’s largest music company to be involved in the release of a single song.

“The proposition that I am involved in the release and promotion of any particular sound recording, among the thousands of UMG releases globally, is farcical,” Grainge stated.

The new filing emerged as discovery is in progress in Drake’s lawsuit, which claims UMG defamed him by releasing Lamar’s harsh diss track that labeled him a “certified pedophile.” Last week, his attorneys requested access to Grainge’s emails and text messages.

Grainge stated that as the head of a major corporation, he’s accustomed to such filings that aim to “waste my and UMG’s time and resources with discovery of the sort that Drake is pursuing here.” However, he also addressed the assertion that he was personally involved in promoting a record that Drake claims was defamatory.

“I would like to clarify that I had never heard the recording ‘Not Like Us,’ nor had I seen the corresponding cover art or music video, until after they were released,” Grainge wrote in the filing. “The notion that I was involved in, let alone responsible for, reviewing and approving the content of ‘Not Like Us,’ its cover art or music video, or for determining or directing the promotion of those materials, is unfounded and indeed ridiculous.”

Lamar released “Not Like Us” last year amidst a feud with Drake that led both UMG stars to release a series of harsh diss tracks. The song, a powerful response that accused Drake of being a “certified pedophile” over a catchy beat, became a chart-topping hit and won five Grammy Awards, including record and song of the year.

In January, Drake took the unusual step of suing UMG, claiming his own label had defamed him by enhancing the track’s popularity using bots and other questionable marketing methods. The lawsuit, which did not name Lamar as a defendant, alleges that UMG “waged a campaign” against its own artist to disseminate a “malicious narrative” about pedophilia that it knew to be false.

UMG has stated that those accusations are clearly baseless – that “hyperbolic insults” and “vitriolic allegations” are typical in diss tracks and cannot serve as the basis for a libel lawsuit. The company has notably pointed out that Drake himself was eager to make such attacks, including accusing Lamar of domestic abuse, until he lost the battle.

Last week, Drake’s lawyers filed a motion seeking to compel UMG to produce more materials during discovery – the phase in litigation where both sides exchange relevant evidence. They claim UMG has not fully cooperated, particularly regarding Grainge’s messages: “UMG’s insistence on shielding Grainge from document discovery is unfair, unwarranted, and inconsistent with fundamental principles of discovery.”

However, in Thursday’s response filings, UMG’s attorneys described that effort as “a transparent attempt” to harass the company and its CEO “out of spite.”

“The premise of Drake’s motion — that he could not have lost a rap battle unless it was the result of some imagined secret conspiracy reaching the top of UMG’s corporate structure — is absurd,” wrote UMG’s lawyer Rollin Ransom. “Sir Lucian is the CEO of a multinational enterprise; his days are spent determining and implementing global strategy, not vetting individual tracks or album covers or driving the release and promotional plans for any one recording.”