YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE

Drake Thirsts for Vanessa Hudgens at the BBMAs and Nicki Minaj Isn’t Having It

The Canadian rapper may have taken home a record 13 Billboard Music Awards Sunday night, but everyone was talking about his on stage—and online—creepin’ instead.

Drake swept the Billboard Music Awards Sunday evening with a record-breaking 13 gongs, but the night’s most talked-about moment came courtesy of his maybe on-again girlfriend, Nicki Minaj, who was seen shouting, “Oh, excuse me? What about me?” after Drizzy flirted with Vanessa Hudgens from the stage.

The hilarious moment that stole the show was widely shared on social media and became an overnight viral sensation. The meme is currently bouncing around the world, and looks set to become the defining image of a momentous night that also served as Drake’s de facto coronation as King of the Music World.

“It’s crazy that we’re all here on Earth for a limited amount of time and we gotta show love while we’re here,” Drake expounded as he took to the stage to collect one of his 13 awards, breaking a record held by Adele. “So tonight, I want to say, Vanessa Hudgens, you look incredible tonight.”

Hudgens beamed, but the declaration of the former Disney star’s beauty clearly came, to Minaj, as a most unpleasant surprise. As the camera panned towards her she was caught lurching forward in her seat before yelling, “What about me?”

Minaj’s surprise and (feigned?) outrage was at the very least understandable; earlier in the evening Drake had been pictured embracing Minaj, who opened the show with a sexy performance—in bondage gear—of a mash-up of some of her greatest hits, including her Remy Ma diss track “No Frauds.”

And after the on stage shout-out, eagle-eyed fans noted that Drake began following Hudgens on Instagram, even liking one of her photos. A DM-slide will surely follow.

The Trinidadian-born Minaj, meanwhile, has been frequently rumored to be in a relationship with Drake since she broke up with rapper Meek Mill, whose beef with Drake was fueled in part by their romantic rivalry. She also, in classic Minaj fashion, acknowledged her caught-on-camera outburst with a series of emojis.

Given his record-breaking number of trips to the podium to collect awards, however, Drake had plenty of opportunity to make amends to Minaj, and when he found himself before the mic again, collecting the night’s top honor—Top Artist—he made a passionate declaration of his love for her, saying, “Nicki Minaj, I’m so glad we found our way back, ‘cause I love you and I could never see it any other way.”

In addition to the MC’s Top Artist award, Drake also won Top Rap Artist, Top Rap Album, Top Rap Tour, Top R&B Song, Top R&B Collaboration, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Streaming Song (Audio), Top Song Sales Artist, Top Streaming Songs Artist, Top Male Artist, and Top Billboard 200 Album.

“I’ve got the love of my life up here, too,” Drake said before pointing to Minaj. He then courteously gave respect to Adele at besting her record, announcing, “I wanna say hold tight, Adele, ’cause when a new ting drops yeah, you’ll fall back to get the record back.”

Minaj, who was up on stage with Drake and his whole team, flashed a huge smile before the rapper concluded by saying: “Someone wise once told me, ‘Life is like a roll of toilet paper. You’re either on a roll or taking shit from an asshole!’”

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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