Jalen Rose Pokes Fun At Drake Lawsuit During TNT Sports Segment

Drake is such a big artist that everything he does gets magnified. He’s been the biggest rapper in the world for a decade and a half. It’s mostly been smooth sailing, but 2024 has been a different story. The 6 God has received ridicule and pushback from seemingly every direction, whether it be from fans or other artists. This unfortunate pattern has carried on the week of Thanksgiving. Drake announced plans to file a lawsuit against Universal Music Group and Spotify for artificially inflating Kendrick Lamar‘s streaming numbers. It’s been such a talking point that even Jalen Rose got in on the fun.

Jalen Rose filled in for Kenny Smith on Inside the NBA on Tuesday evening. Rose was flanked by Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Ernie Johnson, Jr. At one point during the broadcast, the song “tv off” from Kendrick Lamar’s new album, GNX, can be heard playing in the background. Jalen Rose took note of the song, and jokingly voiced concern that TNT could be in legal trouble if Drake is watching. “I don’t know if y’all should be playing that Kendrick,” he quipped. “Y’all gonna get a lawsuit up here.” Shaq, Chuck, and Ernie were taken aback by Jalen Rose’s comments, but they laughed nonetheless.

“Lawsuits don’t scare us around here,” Ernie Johnson, Jr. jokingly remarked. This is not the first time that Inside the NBA has alluded to the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar battle during its broadcast. At the very peak of the battle, Lamar’s “Euphoria” was played during a return from commercial. Kenny Smith stepped in and joked that the producers were going to get them roped into the middle of the battle. “What are you all putting us in the middle of the rap beef, man? Come on, man,” he said, much to the amusement of his peers. “You got Kendrick playing, we right in the middle of the rap beef! We in the middle of the rap beef man, we gon’ play one side, we gotta play the other now.”

Drake filed a second lawsuit for defamation the same day the TNT broadcast made light of his issues with UMG. The rapper claimed that UMG conspired to boost Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” which has “falsely accusing him of being a sex offender.” He believes the label should have stepped in and stopped the release of the song, given that the claims in the song are false.