Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj photographed during the Grammy Awards. (Image courtesy: AFP)
New York:
Singer Taylor Swift apologized on July 23 to rapper Nicki Minaj after striking a rare false note in an online row over the MTV Video Music Awards nominations.
Nicki had charged that her Anaconda was passed over for Video of the Year due to bias against African American women, with the music industry preferring "very slim" women.
The 'very slim' Taylor, who received the most nominations for the August 30 awards, responded to her that "I've done nothing but love and support you" and invited her to share the stage if she wins for her video Bad Blood.
Taylor, a self-identified feminist, wrote on Twitter:
Nearly two days later and facing criticism, Taylor - who has usually managed to avoid controversy in her smooth-sailing career - backtracked.
Nicki had said she was bewildered by Taylor's original response and that she instead wished that Swift had spoken out on portrayals of African American women.
She indicated on July 23 that any "bad blood" was over, tweeting in response to the apology:
The controversy brought an unexpected intervention on July 22 from another singing star, Katy Perry, who suggested that Taylor was using the "pit woman against each other argument" while herself putting down another woman, Nicki.
Katy's tweet to her nearly 73 million followers marked a rare moment that the long-rumored tension between two of the era's top pop singers has come into the open.
Nicki had charged that her Anaconda was passed over for Video of the Year due to bias against African American women, with the music industry preferring "very slim" women.
The 'very slim' Taylor, who received the most nominations for the August 30 awards, responded to her that "I've done nothing but love and support you" and invited her to share the stage if she wins for her video Bad Blood.
Taylor, a self-identified feminist, wrote on Twitter:
@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, 2015Nearly two days later and facing criticism, Taylor - who has usually managed to avoid controversy in her smooth-sailing career - backtracked.
I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke. I'm sorry, Nicki. @NICKIMINAJ
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 23, 2015Nicki had said she was bewildered by Taylor's original response and that she instead wished that Swift had spoken out on portrayals of African American women.
She indicated on July 23 that any "bad blood" was over, tweeting in response to the apology:
That means so much Taylor, thank you. @taylorswift13 ❤️❤️❤️
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 23, 2015The controversy brought an unexpected intervention on July 22 from another singing star, Katy Perry, who suggested that Taylor was using the "pit woman against each other argument" while herself putting down another woman, Nicki.
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, 2015Katy's tweet to her nearly 73 million followers marked a rare moment that the long-rumored tension between two of the era's top pop singers has come into the open.
