Before he was a Certified Lover Boy, Drake rose to fame on Canadian teen show Degrassi: The Next Generation, where he played Jimmy Brooks, a character who became wheelchair bound following a school shooting. However, today allegations emerged that Drake almost quit due to the wheelchair story arc because it made him look “soft.”
According to Jimmy Brooks, one of the show’s writers, Drake was not having it when it came to being in a wheelchair in the fourth season of the popular show.
Brooks claims that “there was a letter from a law firm in Toronto, and it was from Aubrey.” (Drake’s full name is Aubrey Drake Graham.) “It was an odd letter that said, ‘Aubrey Graham will not return to Degrassi season six as Jimmy Brooks unless his injury is healed, and he’s out of the wheelchair.'”
James claims that he invited Drake in to talk about the plot and character. Drake allegedly claimed he didn’t know about the letter, but did reportedly express concern about how the wheelchair story line might affect his future rap career. According to James, Drake allegedly said something to the effect of “all my friends in the rap game say I’m soft because I’m in a wheelchair.”
Rather than taking a hard line, James claims he said “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 said Drake was apologetic and there were no further issues. Drake stayed on the series for two more seasons.
He has yet to address the allegations.
