Drake Had His Lawyers Threaten The Writers Of “Degrassi: The Next Generation” To Take His Character Out Of The Wheelchair

There was once a time that Grammy-winning messy rapper and tacky homeowner Drake was not Drake, but Canadian child actor Aubrey Graham. And Aubrey Graham was famous for playing cool teen heartthrob-turned-shooting victim Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Jimmy was paralyzed and required the use of a wheelchair, thus how the nickname “Wheelchair Jimmy” was born. Drake instantly became one of the most iconic characters on the show, and yet! According to a former Degrassi: TNG writer, Drake was so mad about his character using a wheelchair, that he summoned his lawyers and had them threaten the show with his imminent departure.

For perspective, the episode where Jimmy Brooks gets shot, “Time Stands Still (2),” aired late in 2004, which means this situation likely happened when Drake was about seventeen or eighteen years old. Young Drake really didn’t really feel his character’s wheelchair. The A.V. Club recently published an oral history of Degrassi: TNG and one of the people they spoke to was James Hurst, writer for Degrassi: TNG. James revealed that Drake let it be known he was pissed about the wheelchair without even saying a word. He let his lawyers do the talking for him! via People magazine:

“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 six as Jimmy Brooks unless his injury is healed, and he’s out of the wheelchair.’ I said, ‘Get him down here.’

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?’ He’s like, ‘All my friends in the rap game say I’m soft because I’m in a wheelchair.’ 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.’

James goes on to say that he used the moment as a teaching lesson, explaining that there really wasn’t that much representation for wheelchair-users on television and that seeing a cool, popular teenager who uses a wheelchair could be an important act of visibility. You know, even if Drake himself was a person who very much had the complete use of his legs and absolutely did not require the assistance of a wheelchair.

“He was so nice and apologetic about everything. 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. 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.'”

But clearly, Drake wasn’t 100% understanding, because as anyone who watched those early seasons of Degrassi: TNG knows, a big part of Wheelchair Jimmy’s character arc was about his recovery, his quest to walk again (which he did, with crutches, at his graduation), and to prove to the audience that not everything below his waist needed operational assistance. Of course, there is also the conversation of why it had to be Jimmy Brooks getting shot and using a wheelchair, as Lauren Collins (who played the iconic Paige Michalchuk), pointed out to The A.V. Club, saying:

“That was really hard for him. I definitely have a few memories of him toppling the chair over and falling off of makeshift ramps that they’d constructed for him. I don’t want to speak for anyone, but I think [Aubrey] probably struggled with the idea that he was one of two Black characters on the show, and that he was the one who was winding up shot and in a wheelchair, which obviously is part of a much larger conversation.”

It’s not funny if Drake felt like he was getting pushed into an acting situation he wasn’t comfortable with, but it is funny that he allegedly ran directly to his lawyer’s office and had them type up a stern memo. I can’t see this recent development being any good for Drake’s reputation in the future. Just wait until Drake’s sworn rap enemies hear about this. I bet Kanye West is working on a diss track right now that has him suggesting Drake’s ghostwriters are actually a registered LLP.

Pic: CTV