Nicki Minaj still salty about "white man Bon Iver" beating her at the 2012 Grammys
Perhaps this will bring you some comfort: Even those with immeasurable talent, millions in the bank, and a fanatical fanbase willing to violently bully their critics aren’t immune to a petty and persistent grudge. Just look at Nicki Minaj, who took to Twitter yesterday to drag Bon Iver, who bested her in the Grammys’ Best New Artist category in 2012.
“Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation,” Minaj tweeted on Tuesday. “They gave it to the white man Bon Iver.” (It was in 2010 she made history for having seven Billboard Hot 100 singles.)
Minaj’s tweet is clearly alluding to the Grammys longstanding issues with diversity—never forget when oblivious NARAS president Neil Portnow told female artists to “step up”—but the artist also seems self-aware about the nature of her critique. As of this writing, her Twitter display name is “Mrs. Petty,” and she followed it up a few hours later with a string of chuckles.
Bon Iver’s been too busy canceling tour dates to respond, but there’s been plenty of drama around the announcement of this year’s nominees. On Tuesday, The Weeknd declared the Grammys to be “corrupt” after this year’s After Hours failed to garner any recognition. We hope he’s finding comfort in the three Grammy awards he already has, as well as the fact that he’s headlining the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
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