Is Drake’s Drone Video Staged? The Bizarre Story Behind It

We live in bizarre times. A video of Drake being bothered by a drone at his hotel penthouse in Sydney is gaining traction on social media — and people are starting to wonder if the clip is real. It is. But it’s almost certainly staged.

The clip, which has amassed millions of views across X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube among others, opens with a drone shot of a laptop and a glass of rosé perched on a table. Drake, who’s currently touring in Australia, pops out of his lodgings, puts on a mean mug and tosses an orange slide at the device. Shot goes wide.

The drone then flies away, panning from side to side, before ultimately delivering an oddly cinematic view of the rapper’s penthouse.

Check it out for yourself:

If it seems too good to be true, that’s because it probably isn’t.

A Closer Look At Drake’s Drone Video

The drone footage is undeniably funny.

The silliness of the whole premise, Drake’s frown, the missed shot, it’s got all the right ingredients of a viral video — so it’s no surprise it’s stacked millions of views already.

But on closer inspection, it’s almost too perfectly choreographed, starting with the very opening.

The footage begins with a shot of the laptop, which shows a gambling website, and that really is the dead giveaway — it’s most certainly an undisclosed ad. Drake has long had an endorsement deal, reportedly worth $100 million per year, with gambling service Stake.

Over the years, the rapper has put Stake on the map, drumming up excitement around the gambling service with numerous viral stunts, including the dreaded “Drake curse” and his consistently inaccurate high-roller bets.

The laptop shot is admittedly a brief section of the video, but as expected it has garnered tons of attention and brand mentions for Stake. If you need any proof: I’m talking about it right now and you’re reading about it, too.

Indeed, Stake has replied with an inspector emoji under one of the viral posts — a common social media strategy to farm engagement by reacting to high-performing posts, also known as the “reply guy.”

Eagle-eyed commenters have also spotted a mirror reflection of a second person in the footage, speculating that it’s the drone pilot himself. There’s no confirmation of that theory, but it’s certainly plausible with the added context.

Things get stranger, though.

What’s The Inspiration Behind Drake’s Drone Video?

If the drone footage featuring Drake seems familiar, that’s because this style of content isn’t exactly new. It was popularized by a controversial account known as “BumsNDrones,” which has since been banned from multiple platforms.

The account garnered attention for sharing videos — captured on drone, hence the name — aggressively harassing unhoused people in the streets of Pueblo, Colorado, often in the backdrop of popular rap songs.

The account was eventually nuked from TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, but not before it had become a sensation on social media, pulling millions of views across platforms.

The videos were shot in an invasive manner reminiscent of the viral Drake clip.

In the videos, the drones, operated by Henry “Hank” Borunda, would invade the personal spaces of unhoused people, seeking to provoke reactions. The reactions to such provocations were a common thread in some of the account’s most viewed videos — its signature “viral” ingredient.

The Drake drone footage has the same “appeal.”

So Is The Drake Drone Video Staged?

It most certainly appears so.

One of the viral posts X featuring the video was briefly labeled as misleading by the platform’s community notes, with an accompanying warning that Drake has an affiliation with the gambling service displayed in the clip.

It seems the note has since been removed. One of the reasons might be that Stake’s logo isn’t present in the video. But after years of promoting Stake, any stunts involving Drake and gambling have become synonymous with the platform.

Taking that and all of the unusually choreographed details, the most obvious diagnosis is the most likely: the Drake drone video is probably staged.