Drake’s eighth studio album rollout is well underway, and there’s a bit of drama surrounding the newest single. On Friday, Sept. 15, Drake dropped his collaboration with SZA, “Slime You Out,” which will be featured on his upcoming For All The Dogs album, scheduled to be released on Oct. 6, 2023. Along with the announcement, Drake attached what was promoted as the single cover on Instagram. The cover? A picture of the actress Halle Berry getting slimed at the Kids Choice Awards in 2012.
Many Drake fans thought the cover was pretty genius: A song titled “Slime You Out” and a picture of Berry getting slimed. Sounds like the perfect combination, right? Not everyone was pleased with the news, though. Only a few hours after the cover was released, the person in the image — you know, Oscar Winner Halle Berry — revealed that Drake contacted her asking for permission to use the photo, but she told him no. Should’ve been the end of the story, right?
After seeing that Drake went on and posted the image anyway, Berry took to social media to express her frustrations. She posted an image on Sept. 15 that read, “Sometimes you have to be the bigger guy, even if you’re a woman!”
When a fan asked how she felt about the cover on Instagram, she responded, “He didn’t get my permission. That’s not cool! I thought better of him.” She then continued with, “When people you admire disappoint you, you have to be the bigger person and move on!” Another user left a comment asking what the song title even means. Berry replied with, “Exactly, what does that mean?” Her Campus reached out to Drake’s team for comment on Berry’s social media response but didn’t hear back by the time of publication.
Berry later gave a more in-depth reason why she was upset that Drake used the cover without her permission, stating on Instagram, “Cuz he asked me and I said NO, that’s why. Why ask if you intend to do what you want to do? That was the ‘f—you to me. Not cool.” Even though the image’s license belongs to Getty, which anyone with a subscription to Getty could buy, Berry is still the subject of the picture — therefore, her reasons for being upset are very valid.
“Slime You Out” was officially released Friday, Sept. 15 at noon, and on music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, the cover of Berry was nowhere to be found. The cover shown is the same as the album (which Drake’s son Adonis drew), leading fans to believe that Drake might’ve changed it before its release, which was the right thing to do.