It’s been just under two weeks since Drake officially called off his Australian and New Zealand tour and promptly headed back home… and we still have no idea why.
After hitting most stops on his Anita Max Win Tour, the Canadian artist was scheduled to play four more shows – two in New Zealand, and a show in Brisbane and Sydney respectively. But after performing at Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Monday February 26th, it’s been speculated Drake headed straight for the airport and jetted off mere hours later.
The next day, a rep for the Grammy Award winner told Rolling Stone AU/NZ that “scheduling conflicts” were behind the decision to abruptly pull the tour and that the affected dates would be rescheduled. Before we get to that, let’s unpack those “scheduling conflicts.”
Keep in mind, this is a tour that was first announced last November. And apparently, it took at least three months to realise there was a scheduling mix-up. The first and arguably most important conflict: professional wrestling.
Just days after flying back to Canada, Drake was spotted front row at WWE’s Elimination Chamber premium live event in his hometown of Toronto with fellow rapper Lil Yachty. Now, I would have wanted to see John Cena’s heel turn live in living colour as much as the next pro wrestling mark, but would we call going incognito at a WWE event a scheduling conflict?
Even heel John Cena would disagree.
STILL THINKING A BOUT HOW DRAKE WAS AT A WWE PLE AND THEY DIDN’T ANNOUNCE HIM 😂😭#WWEChamber pic.twitter.com/f0IWPFGig6
— Wrestlelamia.com (@wrestlelamia) March 2, 2025
Rolling Stone AU/NZ has reached out to Drake’s PR multiple times without response.
Appearing on US radio show The Breakfast Club shortly after Rolling Stone AU/NZ broke the tour postponement, Loren Lorosa offered an explanation for the chaos: “They just had a routing mess up towards the end of the tour. So basically, they had Drake doing four shows in 16 days. So essentially, if he had done that then he would’ve been sitting around in Australia doing nothing for 12 days and that’s a huge waste of money and time because you have to pay for his dancers, production, his lighting crew. There’s a lot of overhead for the tour.”
On face value, that’s at least a reasonable explanation. Sure, it didn’t come from Drake or the promoters, only Lorosa’s unnamed “source.” But hey, let’s be optimistic.
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But then this happened.
On March 5th, per Billboard, Drake apparently rented out an entire nightclub to himself while he gambled on online site Stake… and blared Sabrina Carpenter throughout the venue.
On a Tuesday.
You see, when you’re a bonafide megastar, performing agreed dates for your paying fans is not a priority. Gambling alone in a club blasting “Espresso” absolutely is. The rest is just “scheduling conflict” noise.
The tour was already – possibly unfairly – under the microscope. Just days into the Australian run, a light 127 million viewers worldwide watched as Kendrick Lamar roasted Drake during his Super Bowl Halftime Show with his newly-minted Grammy Award winning diss track, Not Like Us, and all eyes were on the Anita Max Win tour to see how Drake would respond.
And you know how he gave Lamar his comeuppance?
By giving out thousands of dollars to fans at the next few shows of the tour, which encouraged punters heading to the shows come with signs and symbols hoping they would get Drake’s attention and be picked for cash handouts like an episode of The Price is Right.
At least it was fan-focused and not continuing the beef?
But if you’re a diehard Drake fan, you’re probably thinking there is a legitimate reason for all of this. And maybe there is. We just wouldn’t know, because he’s said nothing. Drake did post an Instagram reel in the last week about the Australian shows he did play. But nothing else. No explanation. No apology. No commitment to the promised rescheduled dates.
Drake’s rep told Rolling Stone AU/NZ: “All tickets for the affected shows will remain valid for the new dates. Refunds will be available for those who prefer, but please note that as these shows are sold out, any refunded tickets will be released for sale.”
So taking the glass half full approach, there seems to be some intent on getting these shows moving. But if the last two weeks are anything to go by, fans shouldn’t be hoping for anything imminent.
After all, it’s Wrestlemania season now and The Rock is back. Priorities, people.
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