Yes, Drake is being sued over Janice STFU. On Friday, Oct. 16, songwriter and producer Aviel Calev Hirschfield filed a federal copyright lawsuit in California claiming the chorus of Drake’s hit matches a demo he wrote and sent to producers in the rapper’s circle early this year. The suit names Drake, OVO Sound, UMG Recordings and Universal Music Publishing Group. Drake’s team flatly denies it, calling the claims fabricated and saying Drake wrote the song himself and doesn’t know Hirschfield.
On the surface, it’s a classic credit fight. Underneath, the case may come down to two dates, a January timestamp on a demo file and a livestream from September 2025.
What does the Janice STFU lawsuit claim?
Hirschfield says he wrote the chorus between December 2025 and January 2026 over an instrumental from FNZ, the producer duo of Michael Mulé and Isaac De Boni, who often work with him. He says the idea came to him after hearing Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers” on a drive to Seattle, and that he wrote the song with Drake in mind. He says he finished the demo around Jan. 25 and sent it to FNZ and other producers but never heard back.
Then, around May 15, he heard “Janice STFU.” FNZ is credited on the track, which also interpolates “I Follow Rivers.” Hirschfield claims the chorus matches his demo in lyrics, melody and cadence. He registered his copyright effective July 21 and is seeking a share of the song’s profits, damages and attorneys’ fees.
How did Drake respond to the Janice STFU lawsuit?
His camp didn’t hold back. A rep told TMZ the allegations are completely denied and called the suit a manufactured, baseless attempt to cash in on Drake’s name and success. The team said the Canadian rapper wrote the song and has no connection to or knowledge of Hirschfield.
According to the complaint, Drake’s side has accused Hirschfield of altering the metadata on his files to make his demo look older than it is, and sent him a cease and desist letter ordering him to stop publicly claiming he wrote the hook.
Does Drake know Aviel Calev Hirschfield?
Here’s the wrinkle. The two men share writing credits on Beyoncé’s “Heated” from her 2022 album Renaissance. Complex describes Hirschfield as a Grammy-winning producer and engineer based in Portland.
That doesn’t prove they’ve ever spoken. Big records often stack up a long list of writers who never share a room. Still, it gives the lawsuit’s argument a bit more weight, since Hirschfield says he has long admired Drake and hoped to work with him again.
Why could a 2025 livestream matter in the Janice STFU case?
This is the detail most coverage hasn’t touched. According to Songfacts, Drake first previewed an early version of the song during his “Iceman: Episode 3” livestream on Sept. 4, 2025, under the title “That’s Just How I Feel.” That’s months before Hirschfield says he started writing his demo.
What isn’t clear is whether that early preview included the disputed chorus. If it did, it could change the shape of the case. If it didn’t, the fight goes back to the timestamps and the metadata.
Why is UMG on Drake’s side in this lawsuit?
That’s another twist. Drake has been in a public legal fight with Universal Music Group since late 2024. In this case, though, UMG’s recording and publishing arms are named as defendants alongside him.
How big is Janice STFU?
Massive. The song spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 20 weeks atop Hot Rap Songs, the rapper’s longest run on that chart. It has passed 300 million Spotify streams. It was big enough that Drake threw apology parties this summer for people legally named Janice.
Somewhere on a hard drive is a January timestamp. Somewhere online is a September livestream. Before this is over, one of them could decide who really wrote the biggest hook of Drake’s year.
