Drake’s ‘grim’ lyrics about Halle Berry resurface after rapper’s use of photo without actor’s ‘permission’

Drake’s offensive lyrics from his appearance on Migos’s 2013 track “Versace (Remix)” have resurfaced after he used an image of Halle Berry without her permission.

The Canadian artist, 36, rapped about trying to “give [Berry] a baby” in the controversial collaboration with the Georgia-based hip-hop group.

On 13 September, while teasing his newest single “Slime You Out” on Instagram, Drake shared a photo of the Catwoman actor, 57, covered in green gunk after being “slimed” at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.

Days later, Berry responded to an Instagram follower who had asked what her thoughts were regarding Drake using the picture for his single.

“Didn’t get my permission. That’s not cool, I thought better of him!” she wrote on Friday (15 September), adding in a follow-up comment: “Hence my post today. When people you admire disappoint you, you have to be the bigger person and move on!”

Drake did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment.

Amid the drama, several commenters reacted to the “grim” situation on X/Twitter, with one pointing out that Drake’s verse in the former hip-hop trio Migos’s “Versace (Remix)”, “comes to mind because he just said f*** her consent for REAL in real life”.

In the middle of the 2013 song, Drake rapped the lines: “Take a famous girl out where there's no paparazzi (flash!) / I'm tryna give Halle Berry a baby and no one can stop me (smash!).”

“Fingers crossed that this is the beginning of the end for him. He’s very consistent in not respecting consent… let him keep digging himself into a hole so it all eventually comes out,” someone wrote.

“Hey Guys please learn this, ‘NO MEANS NO!!!!!!!’” a third said.

The Independent has contacted Drake and Berry’s respective representatives for comment.

Another defended Berry, arguing that “regardless of if Getty Images owns the image or not, it’s still a PICTURE OF HER?? She has the right to be upset”.

“The truth is Drake shouldn’t have asked if he was going to use it regardless of her saying no. That’s spitting on her face,” one added.

While the photo of Berry shared by Drake featured a “Parental Advisory – Explicit Content” logo, suggesting it was the album art for the single, “Slime You Out” was released on Friday (15 September) with the same hand-drawn cover as his forthcoming album, For All the Dogs.

The image was created by the rapper’s five-year-old son, Adonis, and features a drawing of a white dog with red eyes on a black square background.

Drake’s latest album release, Her Loss – a joint project with 21 Savage – came in November. Before then, in June 2022, he released the house-inspired album Honestly, Nevermind, which critics described as a departure from his usual hip-hop sound.