Drake, 36, Defends His Friendship With Millie Bobby Brown, 19

Drake spoke out about his friendship with Millie Bobby Brown this weekend in his new song “Another Late Night,” but he still hasn’t offered an explanation for it. The rapper came under heavy scrutiny in 2018 when Brown – who was 14 years old at the time – revealed that she and Drake – 31 at the time – were friends and that they texted often. Five years later, Drake dismissed critics in his lyrics.

Drake gets to his controversial relationship with Brown within the first few lines of his new song “Another Late Night.” He raps: “My bank account is magnolia, Milly rocking, ayy / Weirdos in my comments talking about some Millie Bobby, look / Bring them jokes up to the gang, we get to really flocking / Or send a finger to your mama in some FedEx boxes / open up that s-, it’s jaw-dropping, really shocking.” While Drake seems ready to defend his friendship with Brown using violent threats, he has not addressed the concerns about an older man talking privately with underage girls.

For those catching up, Brown revealed her friendship with Drake in an interview with W Magazine in July of 2018. She said that they connected over her Netflix original series Stranger Things, explaining: “He was such a fanboy and I was such a fan girl! Honestly, we text all the time now.” According to Brown, Drake became a kind of informal mentor for her, coaching her through the issues a child actor might face.

“He helps me with everything, just like life lessons. He’s amazing,” she said. “He’s a great human being and we went to dinner afterwards and we had dinner the next day and we met in Sydney.” A few months later in a follow-up with Access Hollywood, Brown raised even more eyebrows when she said that Drake “gives me advice about boys.”

As critics raised concerns about this odd relationship, Brown came to Drake’s defense on Instagram. However, the rapper never commented on the controversy publicly until now. Meanwhile, a similar story sprang up in 2020 when singer Billie Eilish revealed that she also texted with Drake. Coincidentally, Eilish also gets mentioned on “Another Late Night” in a later verse by rapper Lil Yachty.

The 26-year-old rapper makes a crude reference to Eilish’s body in the second verse, and many fans find it to be in poor taste. Eilish has been very upfront about her distaste for being objectified, and in this case her ostensible friend Drake had to have cleared this verse before it was released. So far, Eilish has not responded to the song publicly. Drake’s new album is streaming now.