Drake has been in the headlines quite a bit recently, given his ties to XXXTentacion’s murder trial. Some might be wondering: what exactly is the Canadian rapper’s connection to it all?
One of the suspect’s lawyers, Mauricio Padilla, tried to subpoena Drake in January before a judge gave a mandatory order that he has to appear for a deposition by February 24 — or he will be held in contempt of court.
Drake’s lawyer, Bradford M. Cohen, has since responded to the deposition filing, according to Rolling Stone.
“No evidence has been provided to substantiate the assertion that [Drake] in any way contributed to, had knowledge of, or participated in the alleged incident, and to mandate that he appear for deposition for something that he very clearly has no relevant knowledge of is unreasonable,” he shared.
Padilla had previously included Drake on a potential witness list, despite the four men already being charged in connection with XXXTentacion’s 2018 death. Earlier this month, the lawyer also alluded to a social media post that supposedly proved Drake’s involvement in the murder.
“If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi,” XXXTentacion reportedly wrote in an eventually-deleted Instagram Story. “I’m snitching right now.”
However, he later denied the post, writing online, “Please stop entertaining that bullsh*t on Twitter. My accounts were previously hacked.” Padilla did not reference this retraction from XXXTentacion in court.
In addition, back in December, one of the suspects, Robert Allen, allegedly denied Drake’s involvement. Allen testified that he had never met Drake, nor received money from him or any associates. He also was unaware who XXXTentacion was at the time of the murder.