Close X
Saturday, December 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Drake Accused Of Threatening Toronto Photog Over Candid Shots Of Him

The Canadian Press, 06 Apr, 2016 01:00 PM
    TORONTO — A Toronto photographer who claims to have witnessed a confrontation involving another shutterbug and Drake says he worries what would have happened if he wasn't there.
     
    Michael Massie says he thinks the Toronto rapper owes a "polite apology" to Matt Small "for an overreaction to the situation."
     
    Massie posted a photo along with a long caption on his Instagram account relating to Monday's "upsetting" incident at Toronto's Polson Pier.
     
    Massie says he was shooting photos of the city's skyline next to three others when a helicopter "swooped over and landed right next to the end of the pier."
     
    He says he witnessed someone get out of the helicopter, hop a fence, and confront Small.
     
    Small alleged on his Instagram account that Drake and his bodyguard "threatened" him and were trying to grab his camera. They allegedly demanded that Small delete the photos he took.
     
    Massie says at one point Small yelled, "Help! Call the police!"
     
    "I took out my phone and walked over yelling I would call the police if nobody explained what was happening," Massie wrote on Instagram.
     
    "This is when I realize one of the men around the photographer was Drake. They stopped touching his camera and Drake asked me who I was and argued with me that no one could take pictures of him and his friends.
     
     
    "I told him my name and that he wasn't allowed to touch him or his camera and he is allowed to be shooting on public property. A short argument continued until they left for their limo, and walking away, I kid you not, Drake looked back and pointed at me and said, 'I'm gonna find you Michael!' (I assume he meant if I post photos of him, though I took none)"
     
    Massie wrote that Small "seemed shaken and left nervous."
     
    Small could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday morning, nor could representatives from Drake's record label.
     
    "As a photographer, I was upset by the situation and how Matt was treated," Massie said in an email to The Canadian Press; he declined a telephone interview request.
     
    "Often I am down at the pier on my own and had I been where Matt was I would have probably done the same with my camera. I worry how it could have turned out without another person there to show up and change the dynamic of the two-on-one interaction. It could have happened to any photographer and it wasn't appropriate.
     
    "I want nothing from this, but I think a polite apology to Matt for an overreaction to the situation would be appropriate."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Immigration Officer Charged With Sexually Assaulting Woman Facing Deportation

    Immigration Officer Charged With Sexually Assaulting Woman Facing Deportation
    HALIFAX — Police in Halifax have charged an immigration officer with sexual assault allegedly involving a woman who was facing deportation from Canada in 2003.

    Immigration Officer Charged With Sexually Assaulting Woman Facing Deportation

    Eric Lindros Lends Support To Ontario Concussion Bill Named For Ottawa Teen

    Eric Lindros Lends Support To Ontario Concussion Bill Named For Ottawa Teen
    Rowan's Law is named for an Ottawa-area 17-year-old girl who died after being injured while playing high school rugby.

    Eric Lindros Lends Support To Ontario Concussion Bill Named For Ottawa Teen

    MPAC Starts Mailing Out Property Assessments; Up 18 Per Cent Across Ontario

    MPAC Starts Mailing Out Property Assessments; Up 18 Per Cent Across Ontario
    TORONTO — Ontario homeowners can expect the value of their property to have risen an average of 18 per cent when they get their new assessments.

    MPAC Starts Mailing Out Property Assessments; Up 18 Per Cent Across Ontario

    Alberta Asks B.C. Conflicts Commissioner To Look Into Redford Ethics Probe

    EDMONTON — Alberta's ethics commissioner is asking her counterpart in British Columbia to decide if there should be a renewed conflict-of-interest investigation of former premier Alison Redford.

    Alberta Asks B.C. Conflicts Commissioner To Look Into Redford Ethics Probe

    Almost 300 People Nominated Under New, Less Partisan Senate Appointment Process

    Almost 300 People Nominated Under New, Less Partisan Senate Appointment Process
      Trudeau named seven new senators last month, all chosen from a short list of 25 recommended by a newly created, arm's length advisory board.

    Almost 300 People Nominated Under New, Less Partisan Senate Appointment Process

    Email From Manitoba Liberal Account Asks People Not To Abandon Leader

    WINNIPEG — The Manitoba Liberal Party's communications director on Tuesday openly asked members to unite and not to criticize leader Rana Bokhari as she campaigns for the provincial election.

    Email From Manitoba Liberal Account Asks People Not To Abandon Leader