Drake Pissed Off His Brazilian Fans At The Rock In Rio Festival
Drake made himself persona non grata in Brazil over the weekend where he was paid $12 million – $16 million to play at the Rock In Rio festival. According to UOL, Drake has Brazilian fans using his own Hotline Bling meme against him, rejecting his behavior which included last minute cancellations, complaints about the size of the stage, and not trusting Brazilian chefs to prepare his food by getting his personal chef to fry him a single potato (which he brought with him) in the kitchen of his luxury hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant. All without tipping a single soul. Well, he might have “tipped” the “insta-models” that were invited to his hotel for a “private party“, but we’ll never know because he made them all leave their phones at the door.
ONTD reports that while Drake’s trip to Copacabana may not have ended with blood and a single gunshot, it did end with him probably never getting invited to play the Rock In Rio festival ever again.
He was, according to the festival organizers, a nightmare. He reportedly spent the day before his performance complaining and threatening to cancel his set and at one point it was even removed from his tour schedule on his website. He fought with his own crew, fired his light manager and then rehired him after he failed to find a replacement.
UOL (a Brazilian publication, all translation errors are Google’s fault) says that Drake’s performance was supposed to be streamed online, however, Drake wasn’t happy with the set up so he refused to broadcast it.
The broadcast of the show on Multishow and Globoplay, canceled moments before the artist took the stage, was not the only tension factor for Rock in Rio’s organization regarding Drake. All the while he was in Brazil, there was a risk that the presentation would be canceled. At all times, the rapper was criticizing the festival, threatening not to do the show. One of his main complaints was about the size of the stage, too small for the star’s grandeur. In addition, the use of zip lines was vetoed during the presentation, as were photos taken by professionals.
Drake posted about the situation on social media.
Sorry to everyone about the @rockinrio livestream. The weather was unpredictable as it was pouring when I went on stage and we were unsure about the outcome of the show. My apologies on behalf of Mother Nature…I’ll be back for more!!
— Drizzy (@Drake) September 28, 2019
However, according to UOL, the Brazilians were not buying it.
The situation was so stressful that the Rock in Rio team believed it to be a mockery of Drake’s statement that this was one of the best shows of his life during the performance.
Não é verdade! Vc pisou na bola por absoluta falta de respeito com o público Brasileiro. Muito antes da chuva, já não tinha liberado o show. Mandou seu light designer embora, deu piti geral. Simplesmente não quis liberar. Uma pena para seus fãs brasileiros.
— J.B. Oliveira (@boninho) September 28, 2019
Translation: Is not true! You hit the ball for absolute lack of respect for the Brazilian public. Long before the rain, I had not released the show. He sent his light designer away, gave a general piti. I just didn’t want to release it. A pity for your Brazilian fans.
Apparently, Drake’s behavior offstage was equally repugnant. (via Extra, also translated by Google):
It wasn’t just home audiences who got annoyed with Drake after the rapper banned the broadcast of his TV show on the first night of Rock in Rio. The staff at the hotel where the artist is staying in Copacabana, too.
According to an EXTRA source, Drake refused to eat what was prepared for him and only fed on the very food he brought. The singer went to the hotel restaurant, but only ate the potato brought by him and fried by his chef, who accompanied him on the trip to Rio. Drake also did not tip the staff who attended him.
Maybe Drake should go ahead and get that Celine Dion tattoo he wanted after all. Maybe some of her class and professionalism will leach into his system. Celine would probably rather get a tattoo of Drake on her chest, than ever behave in such an un-Canadian manner!
cultural impact:#RockInRio
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Bebe Drake no br
Rexha no brasil— ᴡᴇʟʟ (@wellkatycat) September 28, 2019
rihanna no rio de janeiro: ficou em casa de fã e foi até em praia imprópria // drake no rio de janeiro: ficou em hotel 6 estrelas e ignorou fãs no aeroporto
é por isso que a rihanna terminou contigo, cê é chato demais pic.twitter.com/mn9L64qhtv
— rachel com c h de CHaotic neutral (@rchdtra) September 30, 2019
Pic: Instagram