Drake defends himself against claims of Islamophobic comments

The 30-year-old rapper defended himself on the photo-sharing site.

One Dance singer Drake has been forced to defend his name online after a comment he made while gigging in London. According to The Irish Mirror, Drake was filmed by a fan, addressing the crowd where he told a group to take off their scarves.

"You got on that hot ass scarf right there, you might wanna take this off... "You gotta turn this muthaf***er up. You gotta come out of that s**t."

drake talking to a muslim girl. @ drake stans. u guys stan this?? ? pic.twitter.com/RBPfhBnxE4

— ? (@blurrysdemons) February 7, 2017

The video quickly went viral with fans and Twitter users alike shocked at Drake's apparent dislike for headscarves...

HOLD UP HOLD THE FUCK UP So Drake is a bigoted douche ? An islamophobic hiphop artist ? You fucking moron... https://t.co/it5q2wQtEa

— Sprite X Daronne (@Express_Ur_Self) February 8, 2017

@Drake I'm going to need you to apologize to Muslims for your islamophobic comments my dude.

— jaffar (@jaybrehbreh) February 10, 2017

NOT ONLY DOES DRAKE SUCK HE'S ISLAMOPHOBIC TOO https://t.co/5bzFPT8ieL

— work (@trapseed) February 9, 2017

In response to the backlash, Drake took to Instagram to speak of his upset and heartbreak at his comments being misconstrued. He uploaded a photo with the caption, explaining what he originally meant:

"I make a point every night to end my shows on tones of unity and love so, to find out that I am being utilized in a fake media story about me disrespecting Muslims is devastating to me. At my show in the 02 in London I was talking to 4 women one of whom was wearing a jacket and a winter scarf, I made a comment about taking off the scarf because I enjoy friendly banter with the fans. "I am well aware of what a hijab is and I would never make a disrespectful comment like that in my life towards someone who is wearing one. I am proud that my closest friends and fans come from all different religions and races, perhaps whoever made up this story should spend more time learning about other cultures and less time trying to divide us."

I make a point every night to end my shows on tones of unity and love so, to find out that I am being utilized in a fake media story about me disrespecting Muslims is devastating to me. At my show in the 02 in London I was talking to 4 women one of whom was wearing a jacket and a winter scarf, I made a comment about taking off the scarf because I enjoy friendly banter with the fans. I am well aware of what a hijab is and I would never make a disrespectful comment like that in my life towards someone who is wearing one. I am proud that my closest friends and fans come from all different religions and races, perhaps whoever made up this story should spend more time learning about other cultures and less time trying to divide us.

A photo posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Feb 10, 2017 at 3:24pm PST