Drake is now furious as he fighting back after a court threw out his defamation case against Universal Music Group.

The 39-year-old rapper filed an appeal officially on January 21 in U.S. Court of Appeals while showing that he isn’t ready to give up just yet on the heated high-profile lawsuit over Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us.

The case dramatically started in January 2025 where he said that the song hurt his reputation because it called him a “certified pedophile.”

However, Drake also argued that Universal’s promotion of that track made things even worse but now Kendrick is not part of the lawsuit.

A federal judge dismissed the case in October 2025, claiming that the lyrics were opinions, not facts.

Drake’s team disagreed to judge’s conclusion as they went on to add that the song presented its words as clear facts and that it misled fans through its marketing while causing even more damage.

For the unversed, Drake first filed a notice of appeal in November 2025, officially starting the process.

Moreover, the never-ending case which has been sparking buzz for so long now continued to draw a lot of attention in the music world.

All of Drake and Kendrick’s fans and industry insiders are now talking about where the thin line is.

Meghan Trainor is swiftly shutting down criticism days after welcoming her third child via surrogate.

Speaking to People magazine on Wednesday, January 21, the Grammy-winning singer defended the choice after facing backlash online, calling surrogacy a “valid” and deeply meaningful path to growing her family.

“Surrogacy is just another beautiful way to build a family,” Trainor, 32, said. “It’s not something to whisper about or judge.” She further emphasised that “every family’s journey looks different, and all of them are extremely valid.”

Trainor explained that using a gestational carrier was not her first plan, but it ultimately became the safest option for her and husband Daryl Sabara. The couple, who also share sons Riley, 4, and Barry, 2, spent months consulting with doctors before making the decision.

The All About That Bass hitmaker also praised her surrogate, calling her “selfless, strong and loving.”

On Tuesday, Trainor announced the arrival of baby girl Mikey Moon Trainor with hospital photos on Instagram. “Jan. 18, 2026. Our baby girl Mikey Moon Trainor has finally made it to the world thanks to our incredible, superwoman surrogate,” she wrote, adding that her sons are already “over the moon in love.”

George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Paul Mescal,  Amanda Seyfried, Denzel Washington, Daniel Day-Lewis and Brad Pitt are some of Hollywood’s biggest names who failed to receive an Oscar nomination in acting categories when the nominees for the 98th Academy Awards were announced in Hollywood on Thursday.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, both nominees last year for their performances in “Wicked,” were not similarly nominated for the sequel. In fact, “Wicked: For Good,” was shut out of all categories.

On the opposite end, “Sinners” broke the record for Oscar nominations, with 16, including one in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ newest category, best casting. “One Battle After Another” followed with 13 nominations, while “Frankenstein,” “Marty Supreme” and “Sentimental Value” each earned nine.

Best actor

Clooney, who played a Hollywood star much like himself in “Jay Kelly,” was left off the best actor list, as were Jesse Plemons (“Bugonia”), Oscar Isaac (“Frankenstein”), Jeremy Allen White (“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere”), Daniel Day-Lewis (“Anemone”), Joaquin Phoenix (“Eddington”), and Denzel Washington (“Highest 2 Lowest”). Hugh Jackman was not nominated for “Song Sung Blue,” though his partner in the film, Kate Hudson, was. Joel Edgerton, the central pillar of the film “Train Dreams,” was not nominated, though the picture earned four nominations, including best picture. Brad Pitt was also left in the pit stop for his performance in “F1,” but as a producer he shared in the film’s best picture nomination.

Michael B. Jordan received his first nomination for playing two characters in “Sinners,” while Leonardo DiCaprio earned his eighth for “One Battle After Another.” “Marty Supreme” star Timothée Chalamet, at age 30, became the youngest male to earn three best actor nominations (after “Call Me By Your Name” and “A Complete Unknown”), taking that title from Marlon Brando.

Nominees: Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”; Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”; Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”; Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners;” and Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent.”

Best actress

The best actress category was over-stuffed with fine performances this year. Golden Globe nominees Amanda Seyfried (“The Testament of Ann Lee”), Julia Roberts (“After the Hunt”), Chase Infiniti (“One Battle After Another”), Jennifer Lawrence (“Die, My Love”), Tessa Thompson (“Hedda”) and Eva Victor (“Sorry, Baby”) were left out of the Oscar nominations in this category, as were Julia Garner (“Weapons”), Dakota Johnson (“Materialists”), Jodie Foster (“A Private Life”), and Laura Dern (“Is This Thing On?”).

Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”) and Renate Reinsve (“Sentimental Value”) each received their first Oscar nominations, while Emma Stone earned her fifth acting nod, after having won two Oscars.

Nominees: Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”; Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”; Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”; Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”; and Emma Stone, “Bugonia.”

Best supporting actor

The Screen Actors Guild’s Actor nominees Paul Mescal (“Hamnet”) and Miles Caton (“Sinners”) were left out of the Oscars, as were Adam Sandler (“Jay Kelly”), Aidan Delbus (“Bugonia”), Kevin O’Leary (“Marty Supreme”), Josh Brolin (“Wake Up Dead Man” and “Weapons”), Idris Elba and Tracy Letts (“A House of Dynamite”), William H. Macy (“Train Dreams”), Jack O’Connell (“Sinners”), Andrew Scott (“Blue Moon”), Josh O’Connor (“Wake Up Dead Man”), Mark Hamill (“The Life of Chuck”), and Andrew Garfield (“After the Hunt”).  

Delroy Lindo (“Sinners”), Jacob Elordi (“Frankenstein”) and Stellan Skarsgård (“Sentimental Value”) each received their first Oscar nomination, while Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn, of “One Battle After Another,” previously have seven nominations and three Oscars between them.

Nominees: Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another”; Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”; Delroy Lindo, “Sinners”; Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”; and Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value.”

Best supporting actress

Rebecca Ferguson (“A House of Dynamite”) was one of the most notable absences from the list of best supporting actress nominees, but there was a plethora of performances that didn’t make it, including Golden Globe nominee Emily Blunt (“The Smashing Machine”), Odessa A’zion and Gwyneth Paltroe for “Marty Supreme,” Glenn Close (“Wake Up Dead Man”), Regina Hall (“One Battle After Another”), Hailee Steinfeld (“Sinners”), Mia Goth (“Frankenstein”), Jennifer Lopez (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”), Margaret Qualley (“Blue Moon”), Zoey Deutch (“Nouvelle Vague”), Felicity Jones (“Train Dreams”), Laura Dern (“Jay Kelly”), Mariam Afshari (“It Was Just an Accident”), and Oona Chaplin (“Avatar: Fire and Water”).

Apart from Amy Madigan (“Weapons”), all the nominees in this category are first-timers.

Nominees: Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value”; Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”; Amy Madigan, “Weapons”; Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners”; and Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another.”

Best picture

It was a shock that the Cannes Film Festival’s top prize-winner, the powerful “It Was Just an Accident,” was not among the Oscar finalists; four of the previous Palme d’Or recipients (including Oscar-winners “Parasite” and “Anora”) managed to get nominated. It was just as shocking to find the Formula One racing film “F1” in the running, as it only earned nominations in the editing, sound and visual effects categories. But other crowdpleasers were also missing, including “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “Weapons,” and “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.”   

Nominees: “Bugonia,” “F1,” “Hamnet,” “Frankenstein,” “One Battle After Another,” “Marty Supreme,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners,” and “Train Dreams.”

Best director

Despite “Frankenstein” earning eight nominations, including best picture, Directors Guild nominee Guillermo del Toro was not cited for directing (though he did earn a nomination for his adapted screenplay). Also left out were Jafar Panahi (“It Was Just an Accident”); Kleber Mendonça Filho (“The Secret Agent”); Zach Cregger (“Weapons”); Yorgos Lanthimos (“Bugonia”); Park Chan-wook (“No Other Choice”); Clint Bentley (“Train Dreams”); Richard Linklater (“Nouvelle Vague,” “Blue Moon”); Kathryn Bigelow (“A House of Dynamite”); Mona Fastvold (“The Testament of Ann Lee”); Mary Bronstein (“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”); Rian Johnson (“Wake Up Dead Man”); Kelly Reichardt (“The Mastermind”); and DGA nominee Eva Victor (“Sorry, Baby”).

Nominees: Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”; Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”; Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”; Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”; and Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet.”

Best original song

It’s been common practice that when Hollywood adapts a Broadway musical, a new song is created in the hopes that it will earn a best original song nomination. Often that is the case, and in rare instances (“Evita”) they’ve won. But Stephen Schwartz, despite having two new “Wicked” songs on the Oscar shortlist, was left out. Also missing out: Miley Cyrus (“Avatar: Fire and Ash”), Ed Sheeran (“F1”), Billy Idol (“Billy Idol Should Be Dead”), and Nine Inch Nails (“Tron: Ares”).

Not left out was songwriter Diane Warren, who earned her 17th Oscar nomination, though she has never won. Always a bridesmaid…

Nominees: “Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless”; “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters”; “I Lied to You” from “Sinners”; “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!” and “Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams.”

The 98th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien (who sadly did not get a best supporting actor nomination for playing a therapist in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”), will be presented March 15 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.