"Drake’s plan is working" — Internet reacts to Melyssa Ford seemingly slamming Drizzy for using her image for "financial gain" without her consent
Melyssa Ford seemingly criticized Drake for selling merchandise featuring her picture in his online shop without her permission. For the unversed, Drake released new merchandise on his official website, DrakeRelated.com, after releasing the Nokia music video on March 31.
The merchandise included a "Hot Vixen Moms" hoodie with Ford's picture on the front and the link videovixens.ca on the back. This came after Drake gave Ford a shoutout in the song Gimme a Hug from his album with PartyNextDoor, $ome $exy $ongs $ U.
On April 7, 2025, Joe Budden shared Melyssa Ford's statement during the Patreon episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, where Ford expressed her disapproval regarding her image being used for "financial gain" without her consent. She did not mention Drake's name in her statement.
"While I appreciate the renewed interest in my past modeling career and contribution to Hip-Hop, the decision to use my image for financial gain should have included my consent. This situation speaks to a broader issue - in business, women are too frequently marginalised, whether they're artists or labeled as "video vixens." Changing this is something I will remain vocal about on my platforms," she wrote.
She also appreciated Joe Budden and the podcast for purchasing the videovixens.ca domain and initially redirecting the link to Budden's Patreon page, and later to the YouTube page of the Hot and Bothered with Melyssa Ford podcast.
Melyssa Ford's statement about the situation received mixed responses from netizens, with one user suggesting that Drake's alleged plan to create discord among The Joe Budden Podcast members was working.
"Drake’s plan is working lol."
Several netizens wondered how Joe Budden felt about the situation, considering his long-standing feud with Drake.
"My personal opinion is, there is nothing wrong with this statement. But I can understand why Joe felt a way about her mentioning him in it because he wasn’t apart of them buying the domain and this says he had a part in it. I think overall Joe, is a tiny bit bothered by the whole situation though but can’t outright say it," one person speculated.
"And I think Joe wants as much distance as possible from the domain redirect because that was lowkey super corny," another person added.
"Joe doesn’t want to be a pawn in drakes games, Mel has no problem being a pawn .. that’s why Joe was mad.." someone else commented.
Some people argued that the statement was unnecessary, pointing out that Melyssa Ford had no issue promoting the song when it was first released. One user speculated that Ford might be leaving The Joe Budden Podcast soon.
"She didn’t want to listen when she was promoting the song on her IG but now it’s a woman issue lmao," one person posted.
"Nothing wrong with the statement but it was SO unnecessary it feels corny. You don't own the image. This is such a non issue. And exactly what Drake wanted which is why they told her not to play into this in the first place," another person added.
"Yup, she definitely leaving the pod. the lady was gone for weeks. came back to the same s**t. fighting for her life in air," someone else wrote.
"Where’s my check?" — Melyssa Ford on Drizzy selling merch with her picture
On the track Gimme A Hug, Drake gave a shoutout to his fellow Canadian, Melyssa Ford, while apparently throwing shade at Joe Budden with the line:
“Melyssa Ford, you a legend from the 6, hate to see you with a d**ksucker."
Although Drake never mentioned Budden directly, the line was broadly interpreted as a diss towards the former rapper. After the song's release, Melyssa Ford showed appreciation for Drake and updated her Instagram bio to read "Legend From The 6." However, the podcaster seemed surprised when Drake released a hoodie featuring her picture.
The podcast panel discussed the situation during the April 2 episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, asking Melyssa Ford whether she was aware of the hoodie. Ford responded that she had no idea and “woke up to it.” She then explained the situation and asked that she be paid for her image being used.
“There is a jacket with my image on it. And underneath it, it says ‘videovixex.ca.’ So, dot c-a is dot com in Canada. You click on that link and it takes you to Joe’s Patreon. What the f**k is going on? Where’s my check? Where’s my f**king check? That’s what the f**k I want to know,” Melyssa Ford said.
Melyssa Ford also mentioned that she might own the image in question and added that she sent Drake a DM after the situation to clear the air.
In other news, Drake released the MV for Nokia on March 31. As of this article, the video has garnered over 7.6 million views.