“Always beefing with someone”: Netizens react as Drake seemingly takes a dig at Anthony Fantano on Instagram

Canadian rapper Drake and YouTube music critic Anthony Fantano have reignited their ongoing dispute, catching the attention of social media users following a recent back-and-forth involving Instagram stories and spoof content. The latest clash kicked off when Drake posted a picture of Anthony Fantano on his Instagram Story, along with a laughing emoji. This set off a flood of responses from fans and followers, many of whom pointed out the artists' troubled past.

"Drake always beefing with someone, the broths doesn’t know rest," an X user remarked, referring to Drake's habit of clashing with critics and other artists.

Drake posted Anthony Fantano on his Instagram story 👀 pic.twitter.com/3u4AIu1qa6

— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) August 3, 2025

The tale appeared to be a comeback to a spoof video Fantano had put out earlier on his YouTube channel, theneedledrop. The video called "Drake Slid Into My DMs" showed a made-up conversation that Fantano said came from Drake. In the parody messages, Drake seemed to show gratitude for Fantano's past reviews and even threw in a recipe for vegan cookies. The video stuck to Fantano's usual funny style and included him reading out the whole imaginary recipe.

In response to the parody, Drake posted a screenshot claiming to show his actual direct messages to Fantano. The rapper poked fun at Fantano's famous album rating system in these messages. He wrote,

"Your existence is a light 1. And the 1 is cause you are a live." He then added, "And cause you somehow wifed a Black girl. I’m feeling a light to decent 1 on your existence."

By using Fantano's rating style, Drake seemed to aim to make fun of the critic. It's worth noting that Drake's screenshot didn't show the supposed cookie recipe or earlier messages, which didn't match up with the made-up conversation Fantano had shared.

Netizens react as Drake appears to take a jab at Anthony Fantano on Instagram

Netizens were sharply divided over the Drake–Fantano exchange, with some criticizing Drake’s decision to post about Fantano, while others mocked the critic’s continued relevance

"Adin just called out Anthony the fact that Drake had the courage to post him after it deadass made me lose some respect for him but man he just makes music that’s so good I can’t even be mad," an X user wrote.

"Can’t believe Anthony fantano has fans in 2025," another wrote.

"You be mentioning names like we should know who dey are," one wrote.

"Drake never forgets his opps LMFAOOOO," another user mentioned.

"Fantana said some loser shit but theres a whole picture of Drake in blackface, I dont think hes the right messenger lol," one commented.

"You can just look at Fantano and tell he’s a terrible person," another user commented.

Fantano’s review history with Drake resurfaces amid latest exchange

Fantano has taken a look at quite a few of Drake's albums over time, and he hasn't been too kind in his ratings. He scored Certified Lover Boy a "light 3" out of 10, and when it came to Nevermind, he said it wasn't up to par. But it's not all bad news for Drake. Back in 2015, Fantano had good things to say about If You're Reading This It's Too Late. He gave it a "strong 7 to a light 8," and even went as far as calling it his top pick among the rapper's commercial projects at that point.

In response to Drake’s public rebuttal, Fantano later took to social media, expressing amusement over the situation and highlighting the visibility of Drake’s Instagram Story to millions of followers.