Dear Gossips,

I was tied up yesterday with our dog, Barney, who had surgery on Monday to repair a ruptured ligament in his leg. When I finally opened up social media to get an update, Drake’s meat was staring me in the face – and I swear, I wasn’t looking for it, I just happened to go online right around the time it was getting shared, before it was pulled down.

So that was the first viral phase of Drake’s, um, situation. And even though the video of a person who is allegedly him giving himself a massage is now much harder to find, what’s going viral are the tweets from people who are now trying to see it. Which means, almost 24 hours later, Drake is still trending because of his penis. Because thousands if not millions of people have seen his alleged penis and/or thousands if not millions of people are trying to get eyes on his alleged penis. And they are impressed.

This was a leak, and if we’re operating on the assumption that this was not an intentional leak, that Drake didn’t know about it, then it’s a violation of his privacy. And it’s a serious offence. But the reaction to it kinda blurs that fact, right? The reaction to this video illuminates how different it is for women when this happens to them.

Here’s how Drake is supposedly reacting to his junk getting put on blast – when Adin Ross calls him and compliments him on his physique, Drake’s reaction is just to laugh and maybe joke about referencing Adin’s voice note on his next album:

In other words, the leaked video of Drake’s alleged penis won’t be weaponised against him the way nudes are weaponised against women who’ve found themselves in a similar situation. Drake isn’t being shamed, he’s not being made to feel humiliated – in fact, he’s not only being humiliated, this is only adding to his reputation. It’s a flex for him, maybe even a career boost.

And, sure, much of that has to do with the proportions, but when there’s a leak involving a woman, and the proportions are what society considers to be ideal, it’s still not met with the same bonus result. Drake likely won’t have to begin legal proceedings against whoever it is that leaked this video. Unlike Taylor Swift who is reportedly considering legal action against the people who generated an A.I. porn version of her. Like even when it’s not real, this sh-t is a liability for women so much more than men.

Because it goes back to our cultural attitudes about who is allowed to be sexual, and sexually free. And nude without punishment. And that includes women’s attitudes about sexuality and nudity too. There are a LOT of women out there who wanted more of the Drake video, who are contributing to the disconnect in how situations like these play out differently. This is WHY people can use a woman’s body against her. So while, for sure, we should put energy into prosecuting the f-ckers who engage in this kind of criminal harassment against women, in my opinion, it’s also worth noting that those tactics become powerless if the cultural and social stigma is removed. The misogyny we consciously and unconsciously uphold enables these crimes.

Yours in gossip,

Lainey

Drake Gossip

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