Drake with Jim and Renee Stanley.Photo: Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty
Contrary to what his past lyrics might imply, it seemsDrakeisopen to making new friends.
The superstar rapper befriended a pair of grandparents at the Oklahoma City Thunder game on Wednesday night, and helped them go viral after he shared a selfie that called them “my new parents.”
Jim and Renee Stanley toldThe Oklahomanthat they had no clue who Drake, 35, was when he sat beside them at the Thunder-Rockets game in Oklahoma City, but felt compelled to compliment his shaggy red coat and earrings.
Before long, the trio was bonding over hockey and Drake’s native Canada, where the Stanleys have relatives.
Drake.
“We just had a conversation like anybody sitting next to you at a game,” Jim told theOklahoman. “It’s just that he’s a big deal and I’m not.”
Added Renee, 71: “We weren’t intimidated because we didn’t know him.”
Eventually, the “Way 2 Sexy” rapper, who on Thursday was named Spotify’s most-streamed artist in the U.S. in 2021, asked if he could take a selfie with the pair, and they obliged — under one condition.
“[I said] ‘Just tell everybody we’re your new parents,'” Renee recalled. “And that’s when my phone blew up, because he did.”
In a selfie he shared with his 97.3 million Instagram followers, Drake grinned alongside Jim and Renee, writing, “My new parents” on the photo (Drake’s real parents are Sandy and Dennis Graham).
Before long, the couple’s grandson, who follows Drake on social media, had spotted his grandparents going viral — and was very impressed.
“[He said] ‘Oh my God Grandma, I’m following Drake and I see YOU!'” Renee told theOklahoman. “He about fell over. I’m a big hit with the grandkids.”
By the end of the game, the three had formed a tight bond, and bid a fond farewell.
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“At the end of the game he stood up to look at me and I said, ‘Drake, you are just lovely.’ And he kissed my hand,” Renee said.
Added Jim: “When you think of celebrities sometimes and how they can be real snobs, he was just an everyday person and was very cordial to us. I appreciate that.”
They told the newspaper that Drake was at the game to show support for fellow Toronto native Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with whom he shared a hug after the game.
The athlete, however, said that while he does know Drake due to their Canada connection, he wasn’t sure why the four-time Grammy winner, a diehard Toronto Raptors fan, was at the game.
“I guess he just wanted to come watch basketball,” he said.
source: people.com
