The Co-Creator Of “Degrassi” Says Drake Was Not Actually Kicked Off The Show

    "I'm hoping there was just some miscommunication here."

    Ishmael N. Daro
    by Ishmael N. Daro

    BuzzFeed Social News Editor, Canada

    Degrassi co-creator and executive producer Linda Schuyler denies that Drake was "kicked off" the show when his music career started to take off, contrary to what he said in a recent interview.

    John Phillips / Getty Images

    Toward the end of his seven-year run on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Drake was spending just as much time on his music, and that "was part of the reason I was kicked off the show,” Drake told W magazine in an interview published Thursday.

    He said he was spending all day on set and then recording in the studio until the early mornings.

    "I’d sleep in my dressing room and then be in front of the cameras again by 9 a.m. Eventually, they realized I was juggling two professions and told me I had to choose.”

    "I chose this life," Drake told W.

    That's not how Schuyler remembers it going down.

    University of Toronto / Via youtube.com

    "I'm hoping there was just some miscommunication here, because if that's the perception nothing could make me sadder," she told BuzzFeed Canada.

    Schuyler said Drake's character got a full "graduation" from the show. And because his character Jimmy Brooks was famously the victim of a school shooting, he was held back and got an extra year compared to most others.

    Epitome Pictures

    In fact, Shuyler said she and other producers worked hard to accommodate Drake's musical ambitions.

    "From my point of view, the timing was absolutely brilliant because we knew Aubrey was juggling his music," Shuyler said.

    "Not only did we know it, we helped him with it," she said, adding that producers actually planned shoots around Drake's schedule.

    "His character had run its course, so we were nothing but supportive."

    She also still calls him by his legal first name.

    "He's my boy Aubrey," she said with a laugh, "but I'm very proud of Drake, let me tell you."

    Drake's publicist told BuzzFeed Canada he had no further comments about Degrassi at this time.