Nicki Minaj is at it again. The MTV Video Music Awards were announced on Tuesday, and after her “Anaconda” video was “snubbed” in the Video of the Year category, Nicki went on one of her epic rants. When the rapper groused that MTV favored girls with slim bodies, Taylor Swift, whose “Bad Blood” video was recognized, chastised Nicki. Oh the drama.
If I was a different “kind” of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well. ????????????
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
When the “other” girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year ????????????????????????????????????????????????????
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
I’m not always confident. Just tired. Black women influence pop culture so much but are rarely rewarded for it. https://t.co/2xOvJzBXJX
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
And then Taylor Swift caught wind of Nicki’s tweets. OOPS.
@NICKIMINAJ I’ve done nothing but love & support you. It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 21, 2015
Nicki responded to Taylor’s admonishment predictably. And then kept going. Hint: If you follow Nicki, make sure you shut off her re-tweets.
Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn’t say a word about u. I love u just as much. But u should speak on this. @taylorswift13
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
They’re not missing the point, they’re just attempting to overshadow the point. Oldest trick in the book. https://t.co/Y4dt1vKk6C
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
Nicki isn’t feeling Ryan Seacrest either.
Nothing I said had to do with Taylor. So what jabs? White media and their tactics. So sad. That’s what they want. https://t.co/AfcwoyDvpg
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
Ryan posted a headline of Taylor saying she loves & supports me. But not me saying the same to her. Lol. Their headline says I took a “jab”?
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
OK then. She’s got a point, actually.
I’m so glad u guys get to see how this stuff works. Taylor took her music off spotify and was applauded. We launched Tidal & were dragged.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
Nicki often allows her “Barbs” to speak for her. A sampling of tweets the rapper returned:
Believe it or not, there are some things that are so much BIGGER than you, @taylorswift13. You owe @NickiMinaj an apology.
— Elgin Charles (@ElginCharles) July 21, 2015
I'm baffled as to WHY @taylorswift13 felt the need to come at @NickiMinaj for speaking on behalf of unsung black female entertainers..
— Elgin Charles (@ElginCharles) July 21, 2015
Not exactly a “feud” as some in the media are framing it. Taylor wisely kept her thoughts limited to one tweet…
ETA: Correction. Taylor tweeted again, making nice, inviting Nicki to join her on stage if she wins.
@NICKIMINAJ If I win, please come up with me!! You're invited to any stage I'm ever on.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 21, 2015
…so if Nicki is expecting an “apology,” I think she’ll be waiting a long time. She’s getting bent out of shape over some dumb award that means nothing. Maybe Nicki’s people should have campaigned harder or given MTV a few more scoops. This stuff is all PR driven, and silly anyway. In the end, it will bring more publicity to Nicki, Taylor and MTV. The network will figure out how to leverage the incident for ratings when the show is broadcast on August 30, and a good time will be had by all.
ETA: I’m not taking a sides. I’ve been critical of Taylor in the past. For instance, I thought her letter to Apple was probably a publicity stunt. In this instance, she’s sticking her nose into something she should have just let alone. Taylor Swift has reacted to perceived criticism defensively in the past. She can dish it out, but she can’t take it. I also mentioned in the post that Nicki has a point about how the press handled Taylor pulling her music off of Spotify vs the media take on the Tidal story. Nicki can make a salient point, but all too often she puts people on blast without thinking through her thoughts. The tweets start out talking about body image, and then morph into calling out racism in the music business. Without making a clear, well-supported point, she seems more bitter here than anything else.
Regardless, I can’t help but be cynical and dismissive of EVERYONE involved. This item will work it’s way through the media cycle, and like I said, in the end it will be more publicity for everyone.