Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift Are Feuding on Twitter (Or Maybe Not)
It may be nothing, or it may be the dumbest social media feud of the year. Either way, Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift are insisting they aren't at war, but their respective Twitter feeds suggest otherwise.
Nicki was mad as hell when she took to Twitter after the nominations were announced for the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, and her "Anaconda" video was nowhere to be found in the Video of the Year category. Nicki argued that race may have had a role in why she didn't get nominated, intimating that Taylor Swift's nomination for "Bad Blood" might have come at the expense of her own nomination. Taylor was quick to snap back, and the rest is social media history. The tweets are below:
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, 2015Ellen 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, 2015U 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, 2015When the "other" girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year ????????????????????????????????????????????????????
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015@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, 2015Huh? 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@taylorswift13 I'm still confused as to why u just tweeted me when I made it abundantly clear... pic.twitter.com/A5kJyi6fQC
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015Nothing 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@NICKIMINAJ If I win, please come up with me!! You're invited to any stage I'm ever on.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 21, 2015Nicki responded by retweeting this tweet to Taylor, pretty much indicating that all those tweets she swore weren't about Taylor really kinda were:
.@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, 2015But even without that tweet, it's kind of hard to argue Nicki's rant isn't, in some way, about Taylor when one of the tweets calls out how unfair it is when "the 'other' girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination". Taylor's "Bad Blood" music video beat the record set by "Anaconda" for most views in 24 hours on VEVO, so either Nicki is lashing out at Taylor or this is a ridiculous misunderstanding worthy of a Laurel and Hardy routine. I'm guessing it's more of the former than the latter, as Nicki continued to rant...
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, 2015Of course, things would get stranger, as Kim Kardashian tweeted out a picture, and because she tweeted it out while Taylor and Nicki were in the midst of their back-and-forth, everyone assumed it was a comment on the situation. This is because, in the tweet, she quotes the infamous moment in which her husband, Kanye West, interrupted Taylor Swift on the VMA stage:
Naturally, she was as surprised as anyone to find out she'd been dragged into this silly-ass Twitter rivalry.
Wait wait I'm in Paris it's the middle of the night & I'm posting my Vogue Spain pics not having a clue what's going on in the music world
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) July 21, 2015I'm not trying to shade anyone! That's not my style! I just thought that caption was perfect for that pic! Changing the caption now! #ironic
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) July 21, 2015Even Solange is getting roped into this thing, although unlike with Kim, it's her own choice:
Good friends, better enemies?
So yeah, what we basically have here is the celebrity social media version of Marvel's Civil War storyline. Are you with Taylor? Are you with Nicki? Is there even a feud here? Looks to me like Nicki ranted, Taylor responded, Nicki explained, and Taylor got over it. The end, no? I can't even tell anymore, with these damn "feuds". I feel like an old man shouting at clouds. Can't we all just get along?
Anyway, to see what this entire brouhaha is all about, check out the full nominations for the 2015 MTV VMAs and see if the picks are really worth getting that upset over.