Entertainment

Wait, So Drake & Chris Brown Are Friends Now?!

by Kadeen Griffiths

Drake and Chris Brown have upgraded their relationship. Or maybe this is more of a downgrade. After the infamous picture that suggested Drake and Chris Brown are collaborating on a song together, TMZ broke the news that Chris Brown would do a skit with Drake at the 2014 ESPYs. It turns out that they were right, although not in the way we were all thinking. The skit that went down was actually about Drake and Blake Griffin with Chris Brown putting in a cameo appearance near the end that was as surprising as it was hilarious.

In the skit, Drake and Blake Griffin are in discussions for a film about the two of them when they get into an argument about whether it should be called Drake and Blake or Blake and Drake. The two vow to change each other's minds, which they attempt to do with an escalating prank war that ultimately culminates in the two of them dressing up like one another and doing things to actively sabotage each other's careers. Drake is about to undergo surgery to get his appendix removed when the promise of donuts clears the room of doctors except one — revealed to be Blake Griffin.

When Drake panics over the idea of Griffin doing the surgery, Griffin assures him that he wouldn't be doing it. Cue Chris Brown popping up as the real surgeon. The dig at the two's complicated history with one another was subtle and genuinely funny. After all, the fact that they've come far enough from their infamous bar brawl in 2012 to be able to joke about their rivalry is fantastic enough. The fact that Chris Brown was game for the skit, even hanging around to take a "surgery selfie" on the set, goes a long way toward showing people that he's taking steps not to be the man we love to hate. (Justin Bieber aside, of course.)

However, Brown's next appearance was where his presence started to wear a little thin. After the skit, Griffin came out to host the ESPYs, claiming that Drake had left while the television behind him revealed that they had tied Drake up and stashed him somewhere. Chris Brown popped up again to poke fun at himself by introducing himself as "America's Sweetheart", a joke that no one even bothered to laugh at despite the absurdity of the statement.

By that point in the proceedings, Brown was overstaying his welcome. Had he simply appeared in the surgery scene for the surprise and hilarity and left it at that, it would have been a perfect collaboration for both Drake and Chris Brown without pushing too much of Brown onto a nation that's still lukewarm on their feelings toward him. Although Brown's guest spot could have been better in that respect, it reflected well on him overall. At least he and Drake are officially no longer feuding, for better or worse.

Watch Chris Brown's appearance below.