Nicki Minaj calls Latto a ‘Karen’ as Grammy row erupts. Here’s what went down
Nicki Minaj and Latto have had a dramatic falling out online.
It all started when Nicki Minaj’s song “Super Freaky Girl” was moved from the Grammys’ rap category to its pop one.
Nicki called out the Recording Academy in a lengthy video posted to Instagram, saying that she thinks she is being treated unfairly compared to newer female rappers. She argued that the pop category is harder to win.
“If you can’t tell by now that there is a concerted effort to give newer artists things that they really don’t deserve over people who have been deserving for many years, then you’re not paying attention,” she said.
Minaj’s subsequent tweets confirmed that she was specifically talking about American rapper Latto, after namedropping her song “Big Energy”
“Big Energy” was released by Latto in September and charted at three on the Billboard Hot 100. “Super Freaky Girl” is Nicki’s first solo Hot 100 number one.
In response, Latto wrote that she “can’t win for losing”.
The matter escalated further when Nicki Minaj accused Latto of being a “Karen”.
In a since-deleted tweet, Nicki wrote: “This Karen has probably mentioned my name in over 100 interviews. Says she waited in line for Pink Friday [Nicki’s first album] with her Barbie chain on, bangs, pink hair…but today, scratch off decides to be silent; rather than speak up for the Black woman she called her biggest inspiration.”
She also posted private messages between the two.
In response, Latto argued that she messaged Minaj privately so as to not air their grievances publicly, going on to say that she has “ignored countless subtweets since March”. She later posted examples of the alleged ‘subtweets’ – a tweet in which a user is clearly speaking about an individual without tagging them.
She added: “Ur literally older than my mom tryna be a bully”.
Nicki responded: “All this time I thought you was at least 35.”
Nicki’s response was to accuse Latto of ‘age-shaming’ her, while also say that Latto of only being “Black when it’s beneficial” (Latto’s father is Black and her mother is white. Her original stage name referenced a slur used for mixed-race people). Both of Nicki’s tweets have been deleted.
One of Nicki’s fans pointed out that Latto called “Big Energy” a pop song on multiple occasions, to which the rapper responded: “Yikes”.
The two then both independently shared different screenshots of DMs they had shared.
Nicki Minaj revealed that Latto had repeatedly asked her to collaborate on a remix of “Big Energy”, while Latto shared her own screenshots, saying that she has always wanted to work with Minaj on a song.
The rappers continued engaging in their argument, though most of the tweets from Nicki no longer exist.
Latto called Nicki a “super freaky grandma” in reference to the beef-starting song, also alleging that she is “related to rapists”. Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, is a registered sex offender. He was convicted of first-degree attempted rape in 1995.
Latto continues, saying that “the feature was never the problem”, claiming that Nicki hires ghostwriters.
Nicki hit back, arguing that Latto “didn’t care about rap when she was begging for features”.
Nicki’s final argument was the age gap between Latto’s parents; the gap is allegedly over 21 years, with her father is “in his 60s” and her mother being 39.
The fight seemed to have come to and end, when Latto revealed that she had recorded a phone call between the two in which Nicki allegedly said “no-one cares about her little song”. She later clarified Nicki said ‘song lyrics’.
Since then, Nicki has revealed that she also recorded the “entire call from start to finish” Neither rapper has said anything further on the matter – yet.
After Latto used the hashtag #40yroldbully, more than 10,000 tweets have followed suit.
It’s not the first time Nicki has been accused of bullying other musicians.
The full list of nominees for the 2023 Grammys will be announced on 15 November, and the awards will take place on 5 February, 2023.
Voting for the first round of nominees ends on 23 October.
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