Drake Sued Over "Janice STFU" As Songwriter Claims Chorus Is "Literally Identical" To His Demo
Songwriter Aviel Calev Hirschfield sued Drake, OVO Sound and UMG on Oct. 16, 2026, alleging the "Janice STFU" chorus is "literally identical" to his demo. Drake's team calls the claims "entirely fabricated." Allegations only, per Billboard.
Drake is being sued over "Janice STFU," his No. 1 hit from Iceman, per Billboard.
Songwriter Aviel Calev Hirschfield filed a copyright infringement lawsuit on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, against Drake, his company OVO Sound and Universal Music Group, which owns Drake's label Republic Records and his publisher Universal Music Publishing Group. Billboard first obtained and reported the complaint. These are allegations only and have not been proven in court.
Hirschfield claims he wrote a demo in December 2025 and January 2026 over a track he got from FNZ, the producer duo of Michael "Finatik" Mulé and Isaac "Zac" De Boni, who work with Drake often. He says he wrote it for Drake, interpolated Lykke Li's 2011 song "I Follow Rivers," and sent the finished demo to FNZ and other Drake producers, but never heard back.
According to the suit, when Iceman came out, Hirschfield heard Drake perform "word-for-word, note-for-note, beat-by-beat, the exact same chorus" he had recorded. He alleges the hook is "literally identical" in melody and lyrics, including the "Reach me, baby / Call my phone and say you need me, baby" lines.
Hirschfield, who was listed as a co-writer with Drake on Beyoncé's 2022 song "Heated," says he asked for a writing credit and publishing split after the song came out. He claims Drake's lawyers refused and suggested he changed the metadata on his files. He is asking for a share of the song's profits.
Drake's team denied everything in statements to Billboard. "These allegations are categorically, unequivocally and completely denied," they said, calling the suit "a manufactured and baseless attempt to exploit Drake's name." They added, "Drake wrote this song and has no connection or knowledge of this person, full stop." UMG had not commented as of Friday night.
"Janice STFU" spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 20 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Rap Songs. FNZ are credited co-writers on the song, which also interpolates "I Follow Rivers."
The court and case number were not public as of Friday night. This story is developing.
Sources: Billboard (Rachel Scharf, Oct. 16, 2026). Photo: GabboT via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Toronto International Film Festival, 2017).