Drake is accused in a new lawsuit of “shamelessly” using a songwriter’s demo without credit or compensation for his chart-topping success. Iceman single “Janice STFU.”
The legal complaint of Friday October 16, filed by Gregory Korn And Jonathan Steinsapir by Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir and obtained and first reported by Billboardalleges that the chorus of Drake’s May mega-hit is “literally identical” to a demo sent by composer Aviel Calev Hirschfield to Drake’s team in early 2026. “Janice STFU” spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 20 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. BillboardThe Hot Rap Songs countdown, his longest reign on this chart.
Drake’s team said in a statement Friday Billboard“Let us be absolutely clear: these allegations are categorically, unequivocally and completely denied. There is not an iota of truth in these accusations, and we reject any attempt to present these claims as established fact.”
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Hirschfield claims to have written the demo in December 2025 and January 2026 on an audio bed he received from producer duo Michael “Finatik” Mulé and Isaac “Zac” De Boni (known as FNZ), frequent collaborators of Drake. Hirschfield interpolated Lykke Li’s 2011 track “I Follow Rivers” and said he specifically wrote the song for Drake, with whom he was previously listed as a co-writer on Beyoncé’s 2022 track “Heated.”
According to the lawsuit, Hirschfield sent his completed demo to FNZ and other producers who worked with Drake, but never received a response. He first heard “Janice STFU” when Iceman was released for streaming. “Fifteen seconds later, Avi was stunned to hear Drake perform word for word, note for note, beat for beat, the exactly the same chorus that he (Avi) had recorded and sent,” the complaint reads.
FNZ is credited as co-writer of “Janice STFU”, which also interpolates “I Follow Rivers”. Hirschfield says the song’s chorus is “literally identical” to the melody and lyrics of his demo, which contains the lines: “Reach me, baby/Call my phone and say you need me, baby/I’m so green, you gotta teach me, baby/From Vancouver, you’re in British Columbia, baby/Shoot Maybach, beep beep, baby/And my shit came with the heated seats, baby/Swear my label gotta release me, baby/ Blow on me like green tea, baby.
Since the song’s release, Hirschfield says she has requested a co-writer credit and post shares for “Janice STFU.” But Drake’s lawyers reportedly “shamelessly refused to acknowledge Avi’s authorship,” claiming that Drake wrote the chorus himself, even after Hirschfield provided them with its basis and metadata.
“Drake and/or his representatives are instead taking the absurd position that Avi – a huge Drake fan who co-wrote a hit song with him in the past and aspires to work with him in the future – manipulated the metadata of his recording files to make it appear (falsely) that the copyrighted work predated ‘Janice STFU,'” the lawsuit reads. “Such deception would constitute professional suicide on Avi’s part.”
Hirschfield is now filing a copyright infringement suit against Drake and his company OVO Sound, as well as Universal Music Group (UMG) – parent company of Drake’s label Republic Records and his publisher Universal Music Publishing Group.
The lawsuit seeks a share of the profits from “Janice STFU,” alleging that Drake has “deprived Avi of the reputational benefits and substantial compensation he deserves for his contribution to Drake’s greatest success in many years.”
Drake’s team said Friday: “We firmly believe that this lawsuit is a fabricated and baseless attempt to exploit Drake’s name, reputation and success for financial gain and attention. The allegations are not merely disputed – we maintain that they are entirely fabricated, without any credible factual support or legitimate legal basis. Drake wrote this song and has no connection to or knowledge of this person, period.”
Representatives for UMG did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the suit.
This story was updated on October 16 at 8:32 p.m. ET to add a statement from Drake’s team.
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