Drake offers to pay medical bills, tuition of several concertgoers
Drake warmed the hearts of many when he offered to pay for a fan’s medical bills and several others' tuition during a recent concert, days after he opened up about his own health issues.
The rapper learned of a woman's multiple sclerosis (MS) when she held up a sign for him to read during his concert in Toronto, Canada. In a video shared by a concertgoer, Drake could be seen walking to the end of the stage and pointing at the fan's sign.
"This one’s important to me. Her sign says, 'I just found out I have MS, will you help make my night?'" Drake told the crowd.
He then made mention of his record producer Noah James Shebib, better known as 40, who had also been plagued with MS at age 22 in 2005.
"You know, my brother 40 is one of the strongest people on earth, and he fights through a lot of things. So what I’m going to do is, I’m going to connect you with 40 first of all, maybe you can have a conversation," Drake said.
He continued, "Second of all, I’m going to pay whatever it takes to get you the best help in the world, I promise you that. You got my word, and you can come back tomorrow night."
His kindhearted promise was enough to make the crowd cheer. A screen in the arena then captured the fan's emotional reaction to Drake's words before making a surprised face when she was told that she could attend the concert once more.
Chills 🥲
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) October 7, 2023
Drake encountered a fan with MS and offered to connect her with 40 and pay her medical bills. pic.twitter.com/LTNZ7NCl37
That same evening, Drake also paid for the tuition of seven other people from the crowd.
“There’s a couple of things I want to do tonight,” Drake said. “I don’t know if you’ve been watching these shows, but everywhere I go, I try and spread love and I try and help people the way I can. So tonight I want to do a bunch of things."
"First and foremost, I saw somebody that had a sign that said they paid for their ticket with OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) money. Somebody else had a sign that said, ‘Pay for my tuition’ … This is what I’m going to do. We’re paying for your tuition tonight and we’re paying for your tuition tonight. And we’re going to find five more people who need their tuition paid. I’m taking care of everything.”
This isn't the first time that the artist has shown kindness to fans. In an earlier show in Miami, Drake gave $50,000 (P2.8 million) to a male concertgoer who spent all of his savings to watch the show with his girlfriend, only for her to leave him before they could go. He also gifted a super fan who attended several of his shows a first-class trip to Atlanta and $10,000.
Drake's offer to support the MS patient comes as he opened up about his recurring stomach issues that have led him to consider taking a break from music.
"I got some other things I need to do for some other people that I made promises to, but I probably won't make music for a little bit. I'm gonna be real with you. I need to focus on my health first and foremost and I’ll talk about that soon enough," he said on his SiriusXM radio show Table For One.
"Nothing crazy but just I want people to be healthy in life, and I’ve been having the craziest problems for years with my stomach. So I need to focus on my health and get right, and I’m going to do that," he added.
