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Nicki Minaj on Monday took to Twitter to let it be known that she will no longer be participating in BET’s upcoming BET Experience festival this summer. The rapper made the decision after the network unfavorably compared her to hip-hop rival Cardi B.
Following Cardi B’s historic win at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards — she became the first solo female rapper to win the award for best rap album — BET tweeted a news item about it, which included this line: “Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj is being dragged by her lacefront.”
— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) February 11, 2019
Minaj has been nominated for 10 Grammys but has yet to win. She wasn’t nominated in any categories this year and skipped out on Sunday’s ceremony.
BET’s tweet has since been deleted, but Minaj’s legions of fans — affectionately called Barbz — made sure to grab a screenshot of the Viacom-owned network’s social media snafu and send her the receipts. In response, Minaj pulled out of the BET festival and revealed that her mentor and Young Money labelmate, Lil Wayne, has also decided not to participate.
“Young Money will no longer be a part of the BET Experience or award show,” Minaj wrote, adding that she instead has plans to set summer tour dates.
Later, Minaj shared images of her fans trolling BET’s Instagram page for rehashing their idol’s feud with Cardi B. “Dang @bet still getting dragged by that lace,” she wrote, appropriating the network’s insult for herself.
Dang @bet still getting dragged by that lace pic.twitter.com/ZoHqMZ7UwW
— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) February 11, 2019
“I can’t thank you guys enough for all the love & support you continue to show me,” Minaj later tweeted to her fans. “To everyone who said something sweet, thank you. Whether I read it or not, I felt it. From the bottom of my heart. I love you so much. So so so soooo much. Stay tuned.”
BET announced weeks ago that both Minaj and Cardi B would be headlining shows during the four-day event that centers on their annual awards ceremony. As of Monday, Minaj and Lil Wayne remained on the festival lineup as seen on BET’s website.
BET later apologized to Minaj in a statement: “BET loves Nicki Minaj. We have supported her from the very beginning of her career and will continue to do so moving forward. Nicki has paved the way for so many performers and has solidified her place as one of the most powerful figures in the music industry.
“Unfortunately the respect we have for Nicki was violated by this post that should never have been written. The post does not reflect how we feel about Nicki. And further does not reflect our company values,” the statement continued. “We deeply apologize for the hurt, disappointment and confusion that this post has caused. We are committed to doing everything we can to address the situation.”
Concluded BET, “We are also conducting an internal audit to assure these types of posts are not published again. We have apologized to Nicki and her team. The post has been removed and we have taken additional appropriate action. We understand Nicki’s position and look forward to continuing our dialogue with her. Finally, we apologize to all of her fans. This should have never happened.”
Minaj’s rep did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The BET Experience festival is set to take place June 20-23 at Los Angeles’ L.A. LIVE.
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