On May 31, 2016, a video of a house party thrown by the rapper Drake came forth on Twitter now X showing Hailey Baldwin (now Hailey Bieber) and Madison Beer. The footage, re-posted by Madison Beer, showed one of many of the light-hearted moments the trio took amongst themselves but was suddenly deleted, which sparked a great deal of speculation and controversy.
The uproar came because of the ages of those involved: Hailey Baldwin is 19, Madison Beer is only 17, and Drake is 29. The whole thing seemed shocking – the closeness of an older man with such a younger woman. The video was quickly deleted, apparently as an attempt to defuse controversy and misinterpretation.
Drake with Hailey Baldwin 20 and Madison Beer 16 turned 17 that night at his house party.
Posted On Twitter 5/31/2016.
Original account deleted the video. I wonder why 🤔🫣🧐 PIC.TWITTER.COM/BBREORUB37
— ŘĮ (@UDONTKNOWRI) JULY 3, 2024
The incident became a point in the broader conversation about Drake’s history of interacting with young women. Slowly but surely, over the years he has been attached to a good number of young ladies, like Millie Bobby Brown and Billie Eilish, to mention a few. Those associations often made headlines and always saw many question what was happening in those relationships.
The whole issue of Drake’s relationships with younger women took a drastic turn for the worse over the weekend when the rapper Kendrick Lamar released his diss track “Not Like Us” on May 4, 2024. In it, Kendrick makes an allegation of being a “certified pedophile” and goes after underage women. The artwork for the track showed a picture of the sexual offender targets photoshopped into an image of Drake’s mansion from the air.
Drake was quick to respond with his diss track “The Heart Part 6,” released on the very next day. He denied such allegations in the track, strictly saying that in the wake of fame, it was impossible to hide such behavior. He also accused Kendrick of peddling lies and using misleading tactics only to defame his name.
In addition, public opinion has been split, with sections finding allegations about Drake to be believable, considering some of his vague relationships with women started to raise concerns in previous years. On the other hand, some sections claim the accusations to be baseless and just a bluff on the verge of Kendrick doing anything to taint his name, considering the beef that has been going on between them.
The controversy has some severe implications for Drake’s public appearance. Although his denial has rallied most of his faithful fans, the allegations continue to darken his reputation. The episode with Kendrick Lamar certainly spurred matters on, taking a minor personal issue into perspective.
