Drake's Star-Studded Afterparty and Fans' Wireless Frustration: What Went Wrong?
EXCLUSIVE: Drake's Star-Studded Party Night Leaves Him "Looking Tired" and Fans Fuming!
The 6 God might have brought the house down with his Wireless Festival performances, but it seems like he needed a serious dose of caffeine after his star-studded party night! According to insiders, Drake partied until the wee hours at Mr Porter in Mayfair on Saturday, leaving him "looking tired" for his final set on Sunday.
The rap superstar reportedly hired out the trendy spot and arrived around midnight with a posse of celeb friends, including Casey Affleck, Sacha Baron Cohen, and OnlyFans sensation Lily Phillips. The party went off all through the early hours of Sunday morning, with Drake finally calling it quits not long before 6am.
But while Drake was getting his party on, thousands of fans were left high and dry at Wireless Festival! The three-day extravaganza ended in complete chaos as festival-goers were forced to queue for hours in massive crowds. VIP guests even claimed they waited up to three hours just to get in!
In videos shared on TikTok, frustrated fans could be seen standing shoulder-to-shoulder, pleading with security to let them in because they had tickets for the day. But despite their best efforts, many were left unable to enter the festival.
One disappointed fan told The Scholarly Note that they joined the queue at 5:30pm and waited over two hours before giving up. "It felt dangerous, and no staff members were willing to come out and speak to us to help the situation," they said.
Another disgruntled attendee tweeted: "Wireless VIP is literally a shambles. People fighting and getting crushed – you literally cannot move!" Others took to social media to vent their frustrations about the festival's poor crowd management.
Meanwhile, Drake's headline set on Sunday was cut short by 50 minutes due to the chaos outside. The rapper arrived on stage 10 minutes early and warned the crowd that he would perform until his microphone was cut off – referring to the strict 21:30 curfew.
Despite bringing out only three special guests (Popcaan, Rema, and Vybz Kartel), Drake's set was still met with disappointment from fans. The official setlist had advertised two Drake sets, but one mysteriously disappeared during the day. Planned performances by Vybz Kartel and Burna Boy did go ahead in their allotted time slots.
Drake seemed agitated throughout his set, which was a far cry from his more upbeat vibe during his previous Wireless Festival appearances. He started his performance by playing an unreleased collaboration with British rapper Central Cee, who didn't appear on stage to perform but instead mouthed the words from his position in the front row.
The Toronto rapper and singer appeared apologetic throughout, promising to play some of his biggest hits to win over the crowd. He told the audience: "London, I will love you for the rest of my life," as he rushed through a medley of tracks that included Controlla, Find Your Love, and One Dance.
A surprise appearance from Nigerian rapper Rema raised spirits in the crowd, with tracks Calm Down and Fever proving a highlight. But after a brief cameo from Jamaican dancehall artist Vybz Kartel, there was only time for two more Drake solo songs.
As his set came to a close, Drake climbed onto a crane to wave to the 50,000 attendees as Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You blasted through the speakers. Fans expressed their disappointment to The Scholarly Note as they shuffled to the exits, complaining that they spent longer queuing to get into the venue than they'd seen Drake perform.
While attempting to leave, fans were alerted to scenes of distress at the accessible exit with many heard pleading with security to let them leave after being told they would have to be held in a restrictive space for ten minutes or until other security gave them the green light.
