Drake Allegedly Lawyered Up To Get His 'Degrassi' Character Out Of Wheelchair After Rapper Pals Called Him 'Soft,' Says Writer
Drake previously lawyered up to get his Degrassi: The Next Generation character of out his wheelchair after his rapper pals made fun of him, a former writer for the show claimed.
Speaking to "The AV Club" in an interview, published Thursday, October 14, writer James Hurst alleged the child-star-turned-Grammy-Award-Winner wanted his Jimmy Brooks character back on his feet.
Drake, born Aubrey Graham, played Brooks — a student who used a wheelchair after he got shot during a school shooting — on the beloved teen drama from 2001-2008.
Hurst recounted when he received a letter years back from a Toronto based lawyer that threatened Drake's character would not return if his demands were not met, per Page Six.
“There was a letter from a law firm in Toronto, and it was from Aubrey. It was an odd letter that said, ‘Aubrey Graham will not return to ‘Degrassi’ Season 6 as Jimmy Brooks unless his injury is healed, and he’s out of the wheelchair,'” the writer reportedly recalled.
After receiving the letter, Hurst confronted the "Champagne Poetry" rapper about the matter, per the outlet, but Drake maintained he had no idea a letter was sent out. “He came in and was like, ‘What letter? I don’t know about that.’ And I said, ‘All right, I understand. But how do you feel about the wheelchair?'”
According to Hurst, Drake, now 34, admitted his rapper buddies made fun of him for being in a wheelchair on the show, to which Hurst then explained the importance of his character.
“He’s like, ‘All my friends in the rap game say I’m soft because I’m in a wheelchair,'” Hurst reportedly remembered. “And I said, ‘Well, tell your friends in the rap game that you got shot. How much harder can you get? You got shot, and you’re in a wheelchair.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, yeah.'”
Once the two talked it through — with the writer stressing the importance of representing those who tend to get overlooked — Hurst claimed the artist was "so nice" and "apologetic." Drizzy did not proceed with further legal action.
“He instantly backed down. I was very passionate about it, and I said, ‘Aubrey, there’s some kid somewhere in a wheelchair, who’s completely ignored, who’s never on television, never gets represented,'” Hurst said.
“‘I need you to represent this person. You’re the coolest kid on the show, and you can say there’s nothing wrong with being in a wheelchair,'” he remembered telling the "Way 2 Sexy" rapper, the outlet reported.
This wasn't the first time Drake butted heads with the show runners. Executive producer Stephen Stohn previously revealed to the outlet that Drake had to be talked into rapping on Degrassi, saying it took some "convincing" because "[Drake's] music side was one side of his career and the acting was another."
