Watch Nicki Minaj Blast Miley Cyrus During VMA Acceptance Speech
Nicki Minaj ended her acceptance speech for Best Hip-Hop Video at the Video Music Awards by thanking her pastor, then cursing out Miley Cyrus, passing it back to the host with the curt: “And now, back to this bitch who had a lot to say about me the other day in the press: Miley, What’s good?”
Minaj was referring to Cyrus’ remarks about how the rapper handled being snubbed for Video of the Year. After learning that “Anaconda” had been shut out of the category, the rapper wrote on Twitter, “If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year. I’m not always confident. Just tired. Black women influence pop culture so much, but are rarely rewarded for it.”
Cyrus suggested to The New York Times that Minaj had not effectively used the snub to talk about race and gender in the music industry, but rather made the moment about herself. “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,” Cyrus said. “And it’s not anger like, ‘Guys, I’m frustrated about some things that are a bigger issue.’ You made it about you. Not to sound like a bitch, but that’s like, ‘Eh, I didn’t get my VMA.'”
After Minaj’s taunt, Cyrus, stunned, replied, “We’re all in this industry. We all do interviews and we all know how they manipulate shit. Nicki, congratu-fuckin-lations.” The camera then cut back to Minaj who seemed to mouth back, “Bitch.”
After Minaj’s remarks at the VMAs, Cyrus resumed the show by noting that voting was still open for the Artist to Watch Award. “I lost this award back in 2008,” Cyrus said, frustrated, and turning towards Minaj. “Whatever. Because it’s no big deal! It’s just an award, and I persevered!”