'Degrassi' Co-Creator Says Drake Was Not Kicked Off The Show
ByIn an interview with W Magazine, Drake claimed to have been "kicked off" "Degrassi" because of his budding rap career, but a co-creator of the hit show says that was not the case.
"I'm hoping there was just some miscommunication here, because if that's the perception nothing could make me sadder," Linda Schuyler, co-creator and executive producer of "Degrassi," told Buzzfeed Canada.
Schuyler goes on to say that she and the other producers worked around Drake's schedule. She also said they encouraged his music endeavors.
"Not only did we know it, we helped him with it," she said. "His character had run its course, so we were nothing but supportive."
The hip hop star, who rose to fame on the Canadian teen soap opera when he was just 14 years old, shared his affinity for music with "Degrassi" fans in 2004 during an episode of a "Degrassi Unscripted," a mini-documentary series that followed the lives of several cast members of the show. What "Degrassi" fans didn't know then was that his budding interest in music would lead to his departure from the series four years later.
"That was part of the reason I was kicked off the show," Drake said in a recent interview with W Magazine. "Back then, I'd spend a full day on set and then go to the studio to make music until 4 or 5 a.m. 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."
Drake is currently working on his next album, "Views From the 6."