Last night, Drake surprise-dropped two new songs, "When to Say When" and "Chicago Freestyle."
However, it was the first song in particular that stuck out to fans. Specifically, a lyric referencing the late Michael Jackson had tongues wagging.
In "When to Say When," Drake raps, "Michael Jackson shit, but the palace is not for kids / Still women sayin' it's childish the way we live."
For context, Michael Jackson famously owned (and once lived at) the Neverland Ranch in California, which was also a private amusement park, until his death in 2009.
In 2003, the singer was charged with multiple counts of molesting a minor at the estate. He was acquitted on all charges after a highly publicized trial in 2005.
In his new song, many assumed that Drake was using the M.J. reference as a way to address critics calling him "creepy" for his friendships with young stars like Millie Bobby Brown and Billie Eilish.
Drake really had to say "Michael Jackson 'ship, but the palace is not for kids" to compensate for the Millie Bobby Brown incident
@DINGOJOHNSONNN Is Drake really going to bring up Michael Jackson in this song after the shit with MBB and Billie? Is that intentional or?
Drake really addressing the shit of people saying he praying on kids lol.... But why use Michael Jackson as a bar 😭😂
“Michael Jackson shit but the palace is not for kids” Drake really tired of these pedophile jokes
ICYMI: Millie and Billie recently revealed that Drake texts them, and some people took issue with it because of their ages when he started: 14 and 17, respectively.
can we talk about drake texting billie eilish and millie bobby brown... he’s a whole ass grown man and they’re two underage girls... that’s some creepy shit if you ask me..
Since then, the actor and the singer have both defended their relationships with the 33-year-old rapper.
Billie called the online backlash a "stupid-ass mess," telling Vogue, "A grown man can't be a fan of an artist? There are so many people that the internet should be more worried about. Like, you're really going to say that Drake is creepy because he’s a fan of mine, and then you're going to go vote for Trump? What the fuck is that shit?"
