Drake apologises over Phillip Seymour Hoffman cover row
Rapper Drake has apologised for his rant over Rolling Stone editors' decision to drop his picture from the magazine's cover in favour of a Phillip Seymour Hoffman tribute, insisting he did not mean to offend the late actor's family.
The hip-hop star hit headlines on Thursday (13Feb14) when he took to Twitter.com to rant about magazine bosses' decision to drop him as cover star for the latest issue following the actor's sudden death earlier this month (Feb14).
Drake insisted he was "disgusted" by the move and vowed to boycott
all future magazine interviews, writing in posts on Twitter,
"They... took my cover from me last minute and ran the issue... I'm
disgusted with that. RIP to Phillip Seymour Hoffman. All respect
due. But the press is evil... I'm done doing interviews for
magazines."
However, Drake has now released a statement in a bid to clarify his
angry comments, insisting he actually agrees with the decision to
ditch his cover, saying, "(I want) to clear the air about an
extremely emotional day. I completely support and agree with
Rolling Stone replacing me on the cover with the legendary Phillip
Seymour Hoffman. He is one of the most incredible actors of our
time and a man that deserves to be immortalised by this
publication. My frustration stemmed from the way it was
executed."
The star goes on to add an apology for his comments: "The
circumstances at hand are completely justifiable (on the magazine's
behalf), but I was not able to salvage my story or my photos and
that was devastating... That made me feel violated. I apologize to
anybody who took my initial comments out of context because in no
way would I ever want to offend the Hoffman family or see myself as
bigger than that moment... I once again apologise to everybody who
took my cover comments the wrong way."