Miley Cyrus Says Nicki Minaj's Response To VMAs Snub Is 'Not Too Kind'
In an effort to have a super awkward time at this year's VMAs, Miley Cyrus recently weighed in on Nicki Minaj's reaction to MTV's lack of nomination love for “Anaconda.”
In July, Minaj tweeted criticism over the snub, claiming MTV's narrow appreciation for a single breed of women contributed to her video being overlooked.
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
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
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
Assuming the final tweet in the sequence was a criticism of her work, Taylor Swift defended her video to Minaj -- only to later apologize.
In an interview with The New York Times, Cyrus lent her opinion on Minaj's statements, claiming she originally kept her distance from all the drama.
Cyrus said,
People forget that the choices that they make and how they treat people in life affect you in a really big way. If you do things with an open heart and you come at things with love, you would be heard and I would respect your statement. But I don't respect your statement because of the anger that came with it... If you want to make it about race, there's a way you could do that. But don't make it just about yourself. Say: 'This is the reason why I think it's important to be nominated. There's girls everywhere with this body type.'
The VMA host insisted Minaj's delivery detracted from the overall message and was “not very polite.”
She explained,
I think there's a way you speak to people with openness and love. You don't have to start this pop star against pop star war. It became Nicki Minaj and Taylor in a fight, so now the story isn't even on what you wanted it to be about. Now you've just given E! News 'Catfight! Taylor and Nicki Go at It.'
The “Wrecking Ball” singer added she does not believe the blame rests on MTV's shoulders. She said,
I know you can make it seem like, 'Oh I just don't understand because I'm a white pop star.' I know the statistics. I know what's going on in the world. But to be honest, I don't think MTV did that on purpose.
After the brief Twitter spat between Minaj and Swift, Minaj accepted Swift's apology and coolly articulated her original point in an interview with "Good Morning America."
Minaj said,
I think that we just have to have both images for girls. We can't have only one type of body being glorified in the media because it just makes girls even more insecure than we already are.
Minaj's message does deserve attention, despite people like Swift (originally) and Cyrus taking issue with the way the message was conveyed.
Citations: Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj debate MTV VMA nominations on Twitter (Entertainment Weekly)
