Drake, the Canadian rapper, has been ordered to give a deposition or appear in court later this month for the XXXTentacion murder trial, glamsquad reports
Mauricio Padilla, the defense attorney for one of three suspects on trial, Dedrick Williams
Late last month, an attempt was made to subpoena Drake. According to Rolling Stone, Padilla claims the Her Loss artist was properly served but did not appear.
The decision to involve Drake was prompted by an Instagram Stories post in which XXXTentacion wrote in all caps.
It was @champagnepapi who tried to kill me. I’m leaking rn.
The Florida rapper later claimed he had been hacked. He was murdered four months later, at the age of twenty.
Padilla explained (and paraphrased) in his opening arguments on Tuesday, Before X died, he said,?If anybody kills me, it?s Drake.? Do you think any detective, sitting here years later, has ever asked Drake or anyone like that? No. He also stated, This is one of the world’s biggest celebrities. We all know that unless this court issues an order, I will never be able to take his deposition.
On Thursday, Broward County Circuit Judge Michael Usan granted Padilla’s petition for an?order to show cause.? Drake has been scheduled to fulfill the order on February 24, according to Billboard.
If deponent Aubrey Drake Graham fails to appear for deposition, he must appear before this court on Monday, February 27, 2023, at 10 a.m. EST to explain why he should not be held in contempt, According to Rolling Stone, this is the order.
In a December court filing, Padilla cited comments from XXXTentacion’s mother, Cleopatra Bernard, who stated that a feud with Migos was also a concern.
In [her] deposition, Bernard stated that she asked one of [X’s] relatives to accompany him to the motorcycle shop on the day he died, due to the ongoing battle with Drake and Migos,?? RS composes.
Complex’s Jessica McKinney explains the situation, writing,?The suspected feud between X and Drake dates back to 2017, when Drake previewed a new song during a tour stop in Amsterdam. Some concertgoers claimed the new song sounded suspiciously similar to X’s hit single. Take a look at me.
Drake, who has previously been accused of biting other artists’ sounds, has denied all allegations. To be clear, Drake is not a suspect or on trial, but by mentioning him, Padilla is introducing someone other than his client in order to demonstrate reasonable doubt.