Drake’s Free ‘Nothing Was the Same’ Gear Giveaway Turns Brawl-y

Drake’s obsession with money might not be that misguided, considering what happens when he tries to give stuff away. On September 19, the Nothing Was the Same real-talker announced he would be opening pop-up shops offering free gear “compiments of the company” for that day only in Toronto, New York City, and Los Angeles. Drizzy arose from his underground lair to greet his public in Los Angeles, but no amount of quantum physics could get him to the Lower East Side at the same time.

His calm presence could’ve been appreciated. According to MissInfo.tv, police arrived after a fight broke out among the three-blocks-strong crowd outside the the pop-up’s location at Alife. According to Complex, police started ushering away the crowd just a couple of hours after the giveaway started, with one officer reportedly saying there were “no shirts left.” The Instagram video below is said to show the dispute.

A Tumblr post by Alife suggests that the store closed early due to a scuffle and that there still are Drake shirts left. Alife wrote: “Earlier today there was a circumstance which ultimately resulted in an altercation between two people waiting in line. Our first action was to secure our staff, followed by protecting the patrons in line. Safety for everyone is our primary concern. Today’s line was very long, proving Drake has some of the most loyal and respectful fans that we’ve seen to date. Unfortunately it’s too bad that an unruly few had to ruin it for all.”

The store added that it would “be closed for the remainder of the day” and that “we will announce what will become of the remaining NWTS product.”

In the meantime, Drake’s Alife merch has already made its way to eBay — would you like to pay $250 for a shirt somebody got gratis? And the former DeGrassi child actor himself will be returning to your small screens this afternoon as a guest on Ellen. Hope she asked him about Courtney from Hooters. (Just another example of when keeping it real goes wrong.)