Drake & The Weeknd make large donations to Black Lives Matter groups

The fight for justice is far from over, and as awareness grows more and more celebrities are lending their voices—and cash—to the cause. And so following a weekend of protests in which a slew of celebs showed up to rally and others took to social media to help educate the general public, Toronto’s own Drake and The Weeknd are also getting in on the action by making some pretty sizeable donations. And we all have Mustafa the Poet to thank for it.

The Toronto poet and songwriter challenged his fellow Torontonians to donate to Black Lives Matter groups in an Instagram story on June 1. “My Toronto Kings @champagnepapi @theweeknd,” he wrote alongside a receipt of a $400 donation to National Bail Out. “Swipe up & match my donation but add 3 zeros! Let’s help reunite black families.”

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Both artists were quick to respond. The Weeknd, a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye, not only added $100,000 to National Bail Out, an organization working to end systems of mass incarceration, but he also donated $200,000 to Black Lives Matter Global Network and $200,000 to Colin Kapernick’s Know Your Rights Campaign. Not a bad way to drop half a million dollars in a day, right? The artist then took to Instagram to encourage others with pockets of all sizes to help the cause too. “Keep supporting our brothers and sisters out there risking everything to push for actual change for our black lives,” he wrote. “Urging everyone with big pockets to give and give big and if you have less please give what you can even if it's a small amount.”

Drake also stepped up large, by adding his own $100,000 donation to the National Bail Out pot. There was only one problem with his contribution though: the sum was so large that his bank thought someone was trying to fraud him and they put a hold on it. Mustafa the Poet revealed the funny text exchange on Twitter, in which Drake asks him where to donate and then laughs because he had to get on the phone with his bank. “They were like, yah nah,” he wrote with a laughing face emoji.

????? @NationalBailOut pic.twitter.com/ZhqlufOtpu

— Mustafa (@MustafaThePoet) June 1, 2020

Fans won’t see Drake adding to his Instagram encouraging others to donate straightaway though. Like many outlets, television stations, and personal social media accounts across North America, the Champagne Papi is going dark on June 2 to raise awareness for social justice; he announced as much by sharing the black box on his Instagram feed with the caption “side by side.”

Drake, Mustafa the Poet and The Weeknd are just the latest celebrities donating money in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Chrissy Teigen, Seth Rogen and Don Cheadle have all opened up their wallets to help Black Lives Matter organizations and citizens who have been arrested while protesting in Minnesota, where Floyd died, and other states. Want to step up and take action or be an ally too? Click here for more information on you how you can help.

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