Drake is coming under fire for his latest attempt at "flirting."
On Thursday, July 21, the rapper took to his Instagram to share a few photos from his vacation in St. Tropez with his 117 million followers, including a standard selection of sunsets, poolside tanning and his superyacht. However, one particular pic of an anonymous woman has sparked some serious online backlash — and for good reason.
During an outing to a local restaurant, Drake decided to take a creepshot of a blonde woman checking her phone at dinner with a male companion, which he then posted to his Story alongside the caption, "Tried to airdrop this woman a pic of herself cause she's a dime."
Drake wilding 😭😂 pic.twitter.com/H8VMoFGXE1
— XXL Magazine (@XXL) July 21, 2022
Needless to say, people on Twitter and Reddit were quick to chide the star for his "creepy pickup move," noting that this was a huge invasion of the unsuspecting woman's privacy.
"Taking a photo of someone without their knowledge to then air drop to them to flirt is creepy. Don’t let Drake lead you into a restraining order," as one critic wrote, while a few wondered why Drake didn't "even having the confidence to strike up a conversation with someone" and several more compared him to Joe Goldberg, the stalker protagonist from Netflix's You.
Creepy pickup move pic.twitter.com/mKv7FW0Jh9
— incel pickup lines (@incelReplies) July 21, 2022
Taking a photo of someone without their knowledge to then air drop to them to flirt is creepy. Don’t let Drake lead you into a restraining order. pic.twitter.com/BXahmM4Qrs
— Melanin Fiona (@Miss_TiffyBaby) July 21, 2022
Elsewhere, others said that it was an "abuse of fame," especially given that he's "blasting out a random unaware woman’s picture to millions and millions of people," as a commenter said.
"wouldn’t a celebrity understand the need for privacy? or has his perception been so distorted because no one cares about protecting his privacy, therefore he doesn’t care about others," they continued, with another echoing this sentiment by adding, "From a celebrity it’s even worse because he should know better in regards to respecting privacy."
I mean isn't this.... invasion of privacy + creepy + abuse of fame?
— s🎀 (@turquoisesky7) July 22, 2022
Meanwhile, another respondent pointed out that Drake had opened up the woman to criticism from his "MILLIONS of followers who are now gonna chime in on their opinion of her."
"If that were me I would not be ok with that," they said. "regardless of the fact that it’s a “compliment”.
That said, Drake has yet to respond to the backlash.
Photo via Getty / Joseph Okpako / WireImage