Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift Quarrel Over MTV VMA Noms
One of the reasons why Nicki Minaj is such a beloved artist is because she’s fierce as hell and stands up for herself. Today, she is standing up for herself because “Anaconda” and “Feeling Myself” both somehow missed out on some crucial VMA nominations.
“Feeling Myself,” an instantly iconic video that marked the first time Beyonce and Nicki Minaj have appeared onscreen together, was left off the VMA list entirely. Meanwhile, early The Pinkprint single “Anaconda” — which broke the VEVO record for views and sparked relentless waves of parodies, copycats, and memes last year — was left out of the race for Video Of The Year, relegated to the Best Female Video and Best Hip Hop Video categories. Which is crazy; that video is easily synonymous with 2014 as a whole. So, Nicki is taking MTV for task over these snubs, and the Barbz are helping. Read her argument below; it’s hard to disagree.
Lol u guys did we miss the deadline?? #MTV? https://t.co/5yUtYZZn3m
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
Hey guys @MTV thank you for my nominations. 😘😘😘 Did Feeling Myself miss the deadline or…?
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
Then Nicki retweeted some dissatisfied fans, who helped list off the records “Anaconda” broke:
@NICKIMINAJ @MTV BETTA ANSWER RN!!! WHERES FEELING MYSELF?!? AND WHY ANACONDA ISNT NOMINATED FOR VID OF THE YEAR?!?
— Dalia Minaj? (@NickiMLoversXO) July 21, 2015
Anaconda and Feeling Myself should both be nominated for Video of the Year. @MTV 😒
— roman (@RockstarRoman) July 21, 2015
FACTS THO>>> https://t.co/SyJ0ugekbP
— TM BAISLEY (@TM_BaisleyBlvd) July 21, 2015
@NICKIMINAJ ASK THEM WHY ANACONDA is not NOT NOMINATED FOR VIDEO OF THE YEAR WHEN WE BROKE OUR OWN VEVO RECORD WTF KINDA BULLSHIT IS THIS?!
— A. (@BarbzHoe) July 21, 2015
@MTV so anaconda broke the VEVO record and it's not up for video of the year???
— Clark Kent (@eliefayadd) July 21, 2015
Next, Nicki starts using language about the “kind” of artist she is. Read: a black woman who isn’t afraid to own her sexuality. Remember, her bare ass on the artwork of “Anaconda” led to a huge wave of slut-shaming backlash…
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
Like I said before, Nicki notes how hard it is to ignore the cultural impact of “Anaconda.” It was ubiquitous.
Ellen did her own anaconda video and did the #choreo lol. Remember her doing that kick 😩. Even mtv did a post on the choreo @MTV remember?
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
U couldn't go on social media w/o seeing ppl doing the cover art, choreo, outfits for Halloween…an impact like that & no VOTY nomination?
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
This seems like it’s about Taylor Swift, right? Is it just me? Even if you don’t like Nicki that much, I think we can all agree that her video was better than one of the other Video Of The Year entries: Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” No joke, I had to Google and watch that video just to see what it was about, and my main takeaways is that it sounds like a complete rip-off of “Let’s Get It On.”)
When the "other" girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
After the tirade, Nicki said she’s shooting a video today, and thanks her fans for the continued support:
Ok love u guys I have to get ready. Keep reppin me, do it til the death of me. X in the box. Cuz ain't nobody checkin me😜 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
We’ll see if MTV has any sort of response, though I doubt they will address this. If nothing else, this does raise some important questions about the deadline and guidelines that are used to select the videos, though.
UPDATE: It seems like Taylor Swift also thinks Nicki is talking about her:
@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
And Nicki has responded with another tweet, denying implying anything about Taylor but calling on her to use her sizable clout to speak out on this issue.
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
Taylor:
@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
Then Nicki retweeted this…
.@taylorswift13 stop using "support all girls" as an excuse to not be critical of racist media that benefits and glorifies you
— berenice (@itsbereniced) July 21, 2015
She took issue with an @OnAirwithRyan tweet (“.@TaylorSwift13 blasts @NickiMinaj for #VMAs jab: ‘I’ve done nothing but love & support you'”), then brought Tidal into it.
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
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
And a few more RTs…
nicki was making valid points about the history of racism in the music industry, taylor should be standing by her not making it about her
— becca (@margaerytyreII) July 21, 2015
— 4EverROMAN (@RomansBytch) 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
This is not a joke, Bruno…
Yo I want in on this twitter Beef!! VMAs is the new WWF!! @edsheeran Fuck You!
— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) July 22, 2015
UPDATE 2:
Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman…
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 22, 2015
