When Millie Bobby Brown was interviewed by W Magazine a few months ago, she talked about how she met Drake last year, when she was 13 years old, and how they became friends and they text and talk all the time. Then on the Emmy Awards red carpet, she was asked about her friendship with Drake again. She said, “I love him. I met him in Australia and he’s honestly so fantastic… [he’s a] great friend and a great role model…We just texted each other the other day and he was like ‘I miss you so much,’ and I was like ‘I miss you more,’ he’s great.” She also said in both interviews that Drake gives her a lot of advice, and that the advice is mostly “about boys.”
I find the whole thing creepy. Drake is 31 years old and he has no business texting a 14-year-old girl, even if it is a completely above-board friendship. It’s wrong. I’m not going to apologize for side-eyeing Drake. I’ve never blamed Millie for this – she’s just a kid, which is exactly the reason why her parents should have shut this down months ago and Drake should have shut it down too – he’s the adult, he could say “you seem like such a cool girl, I’m going to go through your manager to send you tickets to my next concert.” That’s it. Millie standing there at the Emmys and saying “I love him” and “we text all the time” is uncomfortable.
Adding to the discomfort is that now Millie thinks it’s her responsibility to… defend her inappropriate friendship with Drake. That’s not how any of this is supposed to work. She wrote this on Instagram yesterday:
“Why u gotta make a lovey friendship ur headline? U guys are weird… for real. I’m lucky to have people in the business extend their time to help me further my career and offer their wisdom and guidance. I’m very blessed to have amazing people in my life. U don’t get to choose that for me. It’s nice to have people who understand what I do. Now get back to talking about real problems in this world other than my friendships… jeez.”
It’s perfectly possible that Drake is merely offering advice about her career and providing some long-term perspective, personally and professionally. In fact, I believe that nothing untoward has happened, that it’s just texts and calls and Millie going to his concerts. But it can *just* be that and still be inappropriate. Maybe I’m old-school, but I just believe fundamentally that a 31-year-old man has no business texting a 14-year-old for ANY reason. Shut it down, Drake.
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
This friendship is cringe worthy
Friendship? More like grooming. I like to have friends of all ages but they are grown-ups. This girl is still fragile, add fame and shady men and there’s disaster in the making. She should read more about Drew Barrymore…
I literally just yelled at the picture of what she instagrammed, “BECAUSE WE’RE CONCERNED HE MIGHT BE GROOMING YOU!!”
And I’m sorry but her messaging around it normalises some really shady and potentially dangerous behaviour. Here she is, telling her fans – many of whom are kids – that having a ‘friendship’ with a 31 year old man is not just normal, but desirable.
Maybe there is nothing illegal happening here (it’s still untoward and inappropriate), but what he/she normalising is really dangerous. She’s just a kid but HE and her team/parents need to do better.
yup, yup, and more yup.
Why aren’t her parents doing something and what’s up with Drake…just NO
Because her parents are thirsty to increase their daughter’s fame. I don’t know what Drake’s excuse is.
I heard that, too. And I think having a social media following as she does at such a young age is asking for trouble. I can’t imagine what idiot things I would have said and done if I were 14 and the public at large wanted to hear my thoughts on anything. I would have probably been like, “Of course it’s fine for me to have a friendship with George Clooney, blah blah blah, just two kindred souls…” But I think George Clooney would have been smart enough to steer clear of teens when he was in his 30’s.
When I was 14 I got crushes on many celebrities. It’s a delicate age. Imagine if I had the ability to meet them and correspond with them…I would have been ecstatic but it could have lead to some very bad stuff.
This friendship is totally inappropriate.
She’s just 14, she’s happy to be friends with someone she admires, she doesn’t see anything wrong cause she’s just 14! It’s Drake, the adult here, who should see how the situation is weird, if not almost criminal. And yet again, a woman has to come foward to defend a man from a wrong and the man keeps quiet.
And where are her parents?
I wish he’d say something about this. Millie, we all have your back, we’re just worried for you!
Yes, when I watched her interview and how he missed her and she missed him more (if I have it the right way around – either way around is a no go) I was very uncomfortable. I’ve worked with too many adolescent girls who got into bad situations in this way. The adult must not encourage this – looking at you Drake. I once asked a girl, “so when you’re 25 you’ll be hanging out with 12-year-olds?” She said: “No! Ewwww!” and then had her ah ha moment.
I have a feeling Drake is silent because he doesn’t consider them friends. LOL. She is 14 after all.
I’m with you 100% on this. I have fifteen year old niece and cannot fathom a thirty one year old man texting her for any reason other than creeping on her. 🤢
Me neither. That scenario would be sick. There’s a difference though in that Drake and Millie Bobby are in a very, very exclusive circle of celebrities. I can see it being just friendly peers sharing stories and giving advice, not predatory. Lightyears away from an unknown perv at Walgreens leering at a tween and getting her number. 🤢
They are literally not peers, in no way is a 30yo man texting a 14yo girl about boys appropriate and it’s not just “unknown pervs at Walgreens” who take advantage.
@ Lady T
I agree that they are not peers. The reason they met was because Drake heard she was staying in the same hotel and invited this 14 year old girl to hang out with him, if it wasn’t for that this “friendship” wouldn’t have started. Tell me what 31 year old man has any business inviting a teen girl out to get to know her.
Peers does not mean “same age”. Ever hear of “jury of your peers?” (Male, female, 18-65, every race, every socioeconomic status but a defined group.) As I noted in my original post, they are both members of a very exclusive group known as celebrities, that live in a very unique world. They are peers.
So grooming her or just friendly mentoring? Opinions vary.
@ladyT
Being peers means you are equals. A 31 year old man and 14 year old girl are not equals, regardless of celebrity status.
Also in your example about a jury being peers, jurors are all adults, so yes, it is about age.
I have a 14 year-old son. If a 31 year-old man or woman “peer” texted “I miss you so much” I’d be like “Oh, hell no.” Step off, Drake.
Remember what it was like when Madonna french kissed you by surprise on stage? Remember that feeling we all saw on your face? How you had to defend her later because it was MADONNA? That’s a rare case of a woman holding power over a man. Remember that feeling and multiply it exponentially.
In most cases, men have more power than women. In all cases, adults have more power than kids. You hold all the power here.
Read stories of women throughout the past 50+ decades, describing what it was like to be in a position full of power differentials in Holywood.
Then take a seat, Drake. Asshole.
She looks even younger than 14 in that picture and he looks older than 31. Gross.
Yep, he looks older than 31. But whenever I see her, I’m amazed that she’s only 14. To me, she looks like she’s in her mid-20s…
So, there was a little girl on our local news that was on the waiting list for a heart transplant and her wish was to meet Drake. He showed up in her hospital room and it was the sweetest thing. She was so excited and he was so nice. I can’t forget that he did that for her, that was so great…maybe this is just a little friendship…ya think? I hope so.
@ Mellie
I think there’s a big difference between a sick girl wishing she could meet Drake and him showing up to surprise her and do a nice thing. That’s something his people probably had to coordinate with the hospital and her parents, and they never had direct contact (like texting) prior to that encounter and will probably never meet again.
With Millie, he was the one to initiate contact so he can fanboy over her, has taken this 13/14 yr old girl out to dinner a few times, talks to her about her love life, and texts her things like “i miss you so much.” If it wasn’t for him initiating contact and given her his number this friendship would have never formed.
Also if it is just that he was a stranger things fan, and wanted to meet the cast, why not invite them all (and their guardians) to his concert sometime or something like that. How come he’s trying to only “protect” and “give advice” to Millie? There’s no good reason for a 30 year old to give a teen girl his direct contact.
Goodness, the facts presented like this show such a ickie view! 🤢 what the hell is this dude thinking. From the outside this looks like textbook grooming.
Drake is apparently dating an 18 year old who he has been talking to prior to her becoming 18. He is just all over the place when it comes to women.
No, just No. Drake is a known prowler of underaged women. Millie’s defense reads just like a conditioner demands. Drake makes me sick!
The truth of the matter of the situation is this…Drake has never showcased any sexual predator stances towards women or underage girls…that dating an 18 year old rumour was shown to be just that…a rumor…and Drake HAS walked in her shoes…has been a child actor that basically became the breadwinner of his family as a child…and was able to do the thing that the majority of child actors are not able to do…
Translate that child stardom into adult stardom….and ultimately, that’s what she’s trying to do…so yes, I can see her having a friendship with Drake…who my gut, which ain’t been wrong yet…tells me IS that sensitive nice guy folks make fun of….and because…he IS DRAKE…and being friends with someone like DRAKE…in her circle would be a feather in her cap…I see why she publicized it she’s a kid…being discreet ain’t even in her vocabulary….
Drake is learning about the word…Blowback…because of his sexual life with that has been pretty publicized that encapsulates…SO…MANY…WOMEN…
It can be unfortunate…but that’s the reality…
I tend to agree with you. It’s very serious to accuse someone of grooming. If there is proof of anything by all means, bring it on. Jody Foster was very close to Kristen Stewart when they worked together too, there are so many other examples. Also, this girl is a name dropper like no other, she is probably pushed into those friendships by her handlers so hopefully she falls into someone nice.
I see your point and agree with you on most points, I don’t think he’s grooming her or anything.
However (and this is a genuine question), Drake transitioned into a rap/pop star. I know he’s gonna get back into producing TV shows (or he’s already done so and they’re about to be released) but how is Millie benefiting from his experience/advice when she’s trying to do something fundamentally different – transitioning from child actress into a serious adult actress?
@Valois
So much to choose from: dealing with celebrity as a kid, with boyfriends as teen celebrity, how to be taken seriously. I mean, he still is the Degrassi kid for some journalists so I suppose he has a lot of experience with transitions, negotiating fame and deals. Hollywood and the American celeb world must be one of toughest golden cages there is.
Yeah I just don’t think Drake can give her any advice on any of these things. But then again I’m not Canadian so maybe he was a massive celebrity in Canada when Degrassi was on air and I simply don’t know about it.
Regardless of his intentions, it’s really just not wise to engage a 13 year old girl this way. He doesn’t have a relationship with her parents – he’s not a relative or a godparent or a business associate or even a neighbor, so he has no business texting her. It was phenomenally stupid of him to have put himself in this position.
Agree.
Say it for the people in the back! I have oodles of nieces and nephews at all ages, who text or call for advice. When it first began I asked does your parent know we are talking. I mean, pregnancy, abortion, coming out, cosigner loan ( ha that was a short call lol though it was cool nephew thought we had credit ) Even as an auntie was not comfortable having adult discussions without parental consent. And it worked out, the folks were like God they can talk to you etc.
If any grown up is texting our kid, we’ll be on their doorstep with a 100lb dog and a bat. Drake has arrested development. Although his Katt impression slays me.
Yes. I agree completely with you and Snowslow. On the surface it seems weird, but they’re also practically coworkers. If Drake suddenly starts dating her right when she hits 18, then people will have been onto something, but since I haven’t heard any #metoo stories about Drake yet and it would, I’m not going to make that leap. It wouldn’t be fair to Millie Bobbi Brown. Also, it’s completely understandable why she’s the one who feels like she has to respond: She’s the one who will get slut-shamed/ labelled as a Pimped Out Hollywood Victim Girl by gossip sites if people even suspect or whisper anything.
Even though I agree that nothing is going on here and they’re almost co- workers, (plus Drake is not the first older celeb she’s gushed about) the optics are bad and it’s not smart for either of them to put themselves/ be allowed to put themselves in this position.
But he says he misses her,what do you say about that? You have to admit that is weird.
Everything out of context is bizarre and no one is saying that it’s not verging on the problematic. It’s just a big leap to talk about grooming. I can see my 14 year old self talking with a grown-up like this. For all we know she is the one who talks to him like one of her friends. Let’s just not goo to far on a report of a report of a report without any idea of context.
Imagine if you had a 14 year old daughter and you found out that a 31 year old man was texting her “i miss you.” It ain’t right.
He’s grooming her. That guy has always been problematic. He’s building trust to pounce sometime in the near future. He’s disgusting.
I have seen the women in Drake’s life. Doubt sincerely he is anything more than a mentor/text buddy with her. But, he should shut this shit down asap. Millie sounds like a love struck girl and is getting defensive like Kylie and her lips. Drake has to be aware of the ink this is getting, and it will not help his profile in any way. Millie, find a boy your own age and get over it. Drake, once again, SHUT IT DOWN.
THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, he needs to shut it down before it takes hold. She’s a silly 14 yr old with pushy stage parents who are pushing her to ‘promote’ this friendship to keep her in the media. He needs to distance himself from them.
Her acting like a love sick puppy really did not help the perception of their friendship.
Yes. This is making me think of the Allen case where everyone is so hung up on the sexual abuse that the parental abuse is unimportant. It’s like there is a trend of social issues and it simply is fashionable now to spot predators. This is the kind of post that the creeps like Sean Penn feed on to say that there are nuances in sexual abuse – stop with accusations based on assumptions of assumptions and photo “expert” analysis.
Therefore, yes, I think Drake should be extra careful. And Millie’s advisors should explain what is ok for her to say and what isn’t.
It’s definitely gross and problematic how people are labelled as sexual abuse victims without any evidence in the name of celebrity gossip. One of these days this trend is going to backfire in a big way, and we know which side will be portrayed as hysterical if that ever happens. Sean Penn said what he did for self-serving, misogynistic reasons though. He’s talking about not believing women when they actually say something.
Absolutely yes. I think he is probably preparing the ground if someone comes forward for him and also he has no idea what women go through and doesn’t want to. There are many Sean Penns out there unfortunately and I’ve hearing what he said a lot. That’s why it makes me so ragey when we start clutching our pearls unwisely.
I agree I don’t think it’s grooming even though you never know.
Drake does need to shut it down and shut it down now that little girl sounds like she has a major crush on him and if he doesn’t put a stop to it now he’s going to find himself in a compromising position.
If he wants to Mentor her he needs to keep it professional because texting her and asking her about love life is inappropriate and it’s feeding into her crush on him, so is taking her to dinner.
I fear for Millie so much, not because of Drake but just in general she’s just a kid and the bread-winner of her family, it won’t end well.😞
I agree completely.
ITA – she’s either going to end up like Lyndsey Lohan or Jimmy Bennett. Her parents are not protecting her, she’s their cash cow and ticket to a life of luxury in HW.
I think she has a certain amount of talent but I can see her eventually aging out of some roles. And then things could really go south with the parents she has.
Just the way he is posing with her in that top photo looks disgusting.
I have a 14 year old and while a texting mentor friendship doesn’t seem that out of line (it’s all there to be monitored) the body language in that photo would make me nervous.
I don’t see anything wrong with that photo.
Ugh. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I am with you. I’m sure her parents care for the fame and money more than they care for their child. A 31 year-old man has no business texting a 14 year-old kid.
“Now get back to talking about real problems in this world other than my friendships…”
Because we had stopped talking about world problems to focus on her, huh? She’s a real celebrity now, complete with inflated ego.
INFURIATING.
Totally groomed…
It’s creely but I’m really HOPING it’s genuine and innocent, for her sake. 🙁 Ugh.
Just feels like she is doing too much. First she started trying to be the center of the show. Then we see her putting out info about her boyfriend and break up (do people care that 14 year olds broke up). Now this. Just too much really.
has she done anything else outside of Stranger Things. Any movies or other TV shows that have had some success. Because if not she needs to actually get more under her belt; outside of who her friends are or who she is photographed with.
I think she’s going to be in the next 2 Godzilla movie, so says IMDB. Judging by the limited roles she’s got since ST, this is all her parents trying to make her the next big child star – esp as a few of her co-stars have had a lot more opportunities than she has. Finn (my fave kid in the cast) has about 4 movies out next years (inc. IT Chapter 2 and Pugsly in the new Addams Family).
She’s not a terrible actress but not great either and I don’t think having her parents managing her is a good idea, esp as her father has a bad rep in HW and has pissed a lot of people off with his behaviour. He’s probably has cost her roles.
Drake is a confirmed creeper of undergrad girls. This is wholly inappropriate on every level. DRAKE: stick to legal, at least! Disgusting
If only she had someone to protect and guide her. But it seems this young lady has absolutely no one in the world.
This poor kid should not be in this position, regarding Drake or feeling like she has to defend herself publicly.
If he were truly mentoring her career in professional manner, that’d be one thing, but texting how much he misses her and them “talking about boys” is so inappropriate and NOT MENTORING.
I’m going with milly on this.
When I was her age I had mentors of various ages.
I’m confident that drake would never harm her
Why are you confident about that? Just curious.
I have a 14 year old daughter. There is no way in hell I would be okay with a 31 year old man texting her. Like, nuh-uh!
If there were a business-type friendship involved, that man could reach out to my daughter THROUGH ME.
I reckon he’s trying to groom her for when she turns 18.
She also said they’ve had dinner together a few times.
I’m 31 and a woman. The only 14-year-old I would ever even consider texting is my niece. This does come off as creepy grooming behavior. It makes me super-uncomfortable. How long until we hear R. Kelly kinds of stories about him?
Exactly and he secretly married Aaliyah when she 15. Tons of examples of men who are “mentors”, “friends” with young girls until they hit 18. Just because they are preformers or “co-workers” as some people are saying above make it less cringy.
*Doesn’t* make it less cringy.
*sigh
And here we have it: a 14 year old GIRL doing mental gymnastics to justify her friendship with a 31 year old adult man.
We are conditioned so early in life to do this…
Where is Drake? Is he just gonna sit back and let Millie take all the hits? Shades of Justin Timberlake yall.
Yes he will because I don’t think he will admit texting her and if he does, nothjng he says will justify it…
Before, I figured it was just one former child start reaching out to a kid going through the same thing. And for the most part, I think it still is. But his relationship with that teenager (if it’s real) is all sorts of uncomfortable, and that’s what would make this otherwise innocuous event shades of problematic.
It is probably all innocent, but all it takes is a rumour to take hold on social media or misconstrued photo for Drake’s reputation and career to go down in flames.
Why is no one in either camp stepping in and saying this looks creepy?
Drake is not dating a 18 year old model , that was page Six
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnuRdh6nkZv/?hl=en&taken-by=bellabharris
Thats Jimmy Jam’s kid
That’s a relief, honestly. He’s not as “woke” when it comes to treatment of women as he likes to think, but grooming is a whole level of no.
Somebody tell this child that men grooming their underage victims is an actual real world problem. She might not know, because her stage parents prefer to keep her away from anything not related to Hollywood and her “career”, including her education.
I haven’t even read the article or the comments yet. But I couldn’t resist my gut reaction – why is a 14 year-old GIRL defending her relationship with at 31-year-old MAN??
Ok, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I’ll scroll back to the top to read this nonsense.
This girl reminds me of young Scarlett Johansson, who even at the beginning loved telling people to step off when she pushed boundaries. Also I just don’t think she’s 14, though she’d have to be a lot older for me not to be looking at him sideways.
You know who else had a 14 year old friend at the age of 30? R Kelly. His friend was Aaliyah. They swore to everyone they were just friends and it didn’t come out until 5 years later that he’d married her. 10 years later we found out he was sleeping with 13 year olds and filming it as well.
Srsly? When has a situation like this ever, ever ended well? This is NOT ok.
This is disaster waiting to happen. She clearly doesn’t seem to have protective adults around her who would stand up for her and make sure she is safe. This is so important because the system is so predatory to child stars. I feel sorry for her.
I’m sure her various handlers, managers and staff are all adults, and all text and call her regularly. I don’t agree with the blanket statement that anyone that’s 31 shouldn’t text or contact a person who is underage, that’s just not feasible, especially the entertainment industry.
I don’t know the context of their relationship. It sounds odd to me, on its face. At the very least I feel it should me mediated by an adult.
Dealing with parental pressure? Though I never heard anything bad about drakes family
It’s not ok. Of course Millie doesn’t see that because she’s 14, not a predator. This seems to be what he does though, to all women who capture his interest. He is a groomer. I hope the adults responsible for her wellbeing have the sense to see that.
I was just as clueless when I was a teen. I thought several older men were my good friends who were just trying to help me out in a rough time. Big wake-up call when they all started trying to sleep with me. This is such obvious grooming behavior that I can’t believe the commenters supporting him, let alone her parents allowing this! Poor Millie is so clueless. I’m glad she’s clueless enough to share such boundary-crossing info in public. She’s either clueless or reaching out for help, and either way, somebody needs to step in.