The Drake-Millie Bobby Brown Controversy: Unpacking The 'Grooming' Allegations And Drake's Recent Denial

The question of whether Drake 'groomed' Millie Bobby Brown has re-entered the public consciousness in late 2025, years after the initial controversy first erupted. The discussion, which centers on a friendship that began when the Stranger Things star was a minor and the rapper was in his early thirties, was recently ignited by a high-profile rap feud that brought past allegations against Drake back into the spotlight. As of December 2025, both individuals are adults—Millie Bobby Brown is 21 and Drake is 39—but the nature of their past interactions remains a critical topic of public debate and scrutiny.

The controversy is a complex case study in celebrity mentorship, age dynamics, and the intense scrutiny young stars face in the digital age. This deep dive examines the full timeline, the specific nature of the allegations, and the recent, definitive statements made by both parties that seek to put the matter to rest.

Millie Bobby Brown and Drake: A Biographical Snapshot

To understand the context of the controversy, it is essential to review the key biographical details of the two figures involved, highlighting the significant age gap that fueled the initial public concern.

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• Millie Bobby Brown (MBB)
  • Full Name: Millie Bobby Brown (now Millie Bonnie Bongiovi)
  • Born: February 19, 2004
  • Current Age (December 2025): 21 years old
  • Hometown: Marbella, Spain (British parents)
  • Known For: Portraying 'Eleven' in the Netflix series Stranger Things (breakout role at age 12), Enola Holmes film series, and becoming one of the youngest UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors.
  • Relationship Status: Engaged to Jake Bongiovi.
• Drake
  • Full Name: Aubrey Drake Graham
  • Born: October 24, 1986
  • Current Age (December 2025): 39 years old
  • Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Known For: Rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and entrepreneur. One of the best-selling music artists of all time.
  • Key Entities: OVO Sound, Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment, Degrassi.

The 2018 Incident: How the 'Grooming' Allegations Began

The entire conversation stems from a series of public comments made by Millie Bobby Brown in 2018. At the time, Brown was 14 years old, and Drake was 32, creating an 18-year age difference that immediately raised eyebrows among fans and media commentators.

The Initial Public Statement

The two celebrities first met in 2017 while Drake was on tour in Australia. However, the friendship came under intense public scrutiny in September 2018 when Millie Bobby Brown spoke to Access Hollywood at the Emmy Awards. She described the rapper as a "great role model" and a "fantastic friend." When asked what kind of advice he gave her, she revealed a detail that would spark the controversy:

• The Core Detail: Brown stated that Drake texts her and gives her "advice about boys."
• The Frequency: She also mentioned that they text "every other day."

For many observers, the combination of the significant age gap, the frequent private communication, and the sensitive nature of the "advice about boys" immediately triggered discussions about inappropriate boundaries and the concept of celebrity grooming. The public reaction focused on the potential power imbalance between a then-14-year-old girl and a 32-year-old, highly influential male superstar.

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Millie Bobby Brown’s Fierce Defense and Public Exhaustion

Following the immediate and widespread backlash, Millie Bobby Brown took to social media to address the criticism directly. Her response was a strong defense of her platonic relationship with Drake, emphasizing that the friendship was innocent and beneficial to her career and personal life.

The 'Weirdos' Response

In a powerful statement, Brown expressed her frustration with the public's tendency to sexualize or sensationalize her friendships. She called out the "weirdos" and critics who she felt were trying to ruin a healthy relationship. Her defense centered on the idea that she was receiving professional and personal guidance from a respected figure in the entertainment industry, not engaging in anything inappropriate.

Brown’s reaction highlighted a major topical authority point: the double standard and intense scrutiny placed on young, successful female celebrities. While she viewed the relationship as a mentor-mentee dynamic, the public framed it through a lens of potential exploitation due to the age difference.

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The Latest Update: Drake’s Direct Denial in the Rap Beef

The controversy remained a background entity for years, often resurfacing in online discussions about celebrity age gaps and ethics. However, the topic was dramatically revived in 2024–2025 during the highly publicized rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

Kendrick Lamar's Allegations

During the beef, Kendrick Lamar released a diss track that included explicit and serious allegations against Drake, suggesting inappropriate behavior and illegal relationships with minors. While the track mentioned other individuals, the existing public narrative around Millie Bobby Brown was immediately dragged back into the conversation, fueling the "grooming" rumors to a fever pitch.

Drake’s Response Track

In a stunning and direct response, Drake released his own track, "The Heart Part 6," where he addressed the most inflammatory claims made against him. In this song, Drake explicitly denied the allegations of underage sex and, by extension, the ongoing accusations of grooming, including those related to Millie Bobby Brown.

This musical response served as Drake's most definitive and public statement on the matter to date. It aimed to shut down the narrative that had been weaponized against him during the rap battle, reinforcing the position that his interactions with MBB were purely platonic and supportive.

Was it Grooming? Unpacking the Cultural Definition

The term "grooming" has a specific legal and psychological definition, referring to the manipulative process by which an abuser establishes an emotional connection and trust with a child to prepare them for sexual abuse. While there has never been any evidence, official charges, or public statements from Brown suggesting a sexual or abusive element to the friendship, the public's use of the term is rooted in the perceived power dynamics and age gap.

Relevant Entities and Factors in the Debate:

• The Age Dynamic: 18 years is a significant gap, which naturally creates a power imbalance, regardless of intent.
• The Advice on 'Boys': This detail was the most problematic for critics, as it suggested a level of intimacy or personal guidance deemed inappropriate for a non-familial adult male and a young teenage girl.
• The Celebrity Status: Drake’s massive influence and MBB's young, vulnerable celebrity status amplify the perceived risk.
• MBB's Autonomy: Brown’s repeated defense of the friendship emphasizes her own feeling of safety and benefit from the relationship, though critics argue a minor cannot fully consent to such a dynamic.

Ultimately, the question of "Did Drake groom Millie Bobby Brown?" remains an accusation fueled by social media outrage and the uncomfortable optics of the age gap, rather than substantiated fact. Both individuals have consistently maintained that the relationship was a healthy, professional mentorship, a claim Drake has recently reiterated under the highest possible public pressure.