Nicki Minaj recently stirred up some drama by dragging Beyoncé into the mix and airing her grievances about Beyoncé allegedly siding with Megan. She didn’t hold back, even going as far as to label Beyoncé as foolish and insinuating that Megan is merely her experiment. This isn’t the first time Nicki has thrown shade at Beyoncé, but this time it seems she’s crossed a line, prompting criticism from many.
Interestingly, Beyoncé and Nicki were once close friends, but their relationship soured due to Nicki’s penchant for getting into feuds with various industry figures. Initially, Beyoncé and Jay-Z stood by Nicki during her clash with Cardi B, but they’ve since distanced themselves, recognizing her behavior for what it is and opting to keep their distance.
As many of you probably know by now, Nicki Minaj has been targeting Megan Thee Stallion for about a week, ever since Megan dissed her and her family in a new song. Megan not only labeled Nicki as a delusional woman but also threw shade at her husband, Kenneth Petty, and her brother.
In her lyrics, Megan said, “These girls don’t be mad at Megan, these girls mad at Megan’s Law. I don’t really know what the problem is, but I guarantee y’all don’t want me to start. Be you a PE never F to check me every chance you get. Bet your weak self won’t address me. Bees swear they G, but the G must stand for goofy.” This harsh critique from Megan garnered widespread support, with celebrities like Erykah Badu, Ruby Rose, and even Kris Jenner, whom Megan namedropped at the song’s outset, rallying behind her.
Nicki responded by tweeting numerous things about Megan and liking shady posts about Megan’s personal life. She even released a diss track against Megan, but it didn’t have the same impact as Megan’s did.
She asked, “How do you disrespect your deceased mother? How do you appear on Gil King unable to shed a tear? Spare me. You may think you’re a big deal, but you’re still insignificant. Swearing on your mother’s grave when you deceive. Kylie kicked you out, leaving you stumbling to your car.” It might have been wise if Nicki had left it at that and not escalated the feud further. But, as expected, she didn’t stop there. She took to Twitter to continue her tirade.
What really caught people’s attention was when they realized most of her Twitter rants were aimed at Roc Nation, not just Megan. For those unaware, Roc Nation is Jay-Z’s entertainment management company. Nicki has been asserting for a while now that Jay-Z, Desiree, and Beyoncé have been trying to replace her with Megan Thee Stallion, hence the significant investment in Megan’s career.
“So they want her to be the next Nicki. Roc Nation brunch has you thinking you can speak about my family, even mentioning my innocent 3-year-old child. My home has been swatted twice, with mysteriously untraceable withdrawals. She also mentioned Jay-Z and Roc Nation in her tweets, referencing lyrics where she accuses Desiree of firing people for no apparent reason. Many were shocked and hurt by her actions. Allegedly, she’s willing to bankrupt herself to replace me. Lord, help us. #GoodFoot.”
She also responded to a post from Roc Nation discussing hits, stating, “She’s spending so much money, yet she’s playing the little broke independent artist. Desiree, dear, you need to move on. Everyone knows she’s not talented and can’t rap. Stop trying to force something that’s not happening. #Bigfoot. Meanwhile, I dropped a song with zero promotion, no video, and it’s already making waves.” Nicki’s message seemed convoluted, as usual, and lacked clarity.
People also noted that even before her feud with Megan, she had insinuated that Jay-Z and Roc Nation were trying to undermine her a few months earlier. She lashed out at Elliott Wilson for criticizing her after she appeared in a livestream with Kaisette to promote Pink Friday 2. She said, “Elliott, if you could stop worshiping Jay-Z for a moment, maybe you could support new talent. Isn’t that how you try to smear my reputation by claiming I’m not supportive of new female artists? But I’ve collaborated with all of them. Why can’t you celebrate a young black man like Kai tomorrow?
Do you realize how many disrespectful tweets I’ve seen from you, you fool? Wilson, all of you. Somehow, when you’re around certain people, you think you have this authority. Why is it that when you have ties to Jay-Z, you believe you can disrespect and disregard others? H.” As people connected the dots, they understood that this rift was the cause of Nicki and Beyoncé’s falling out.
There have been instances where Beyoncé has sent flowers to Nicki, like congratulating her on the birth of her child and winning the Michael Jackson Vanguard award. However, their once-close relationship seems to have cooled off over time. Speculation suggests Beyoncé’s gestures might be attempts to mask any underlying tension between them, particularly since Beyoncé typically avoids negativity, which some link to Nicki’s husband, Kenneth Petty, who has drawn criticism.
Rumors gained traction in 2020 when both Beyoncé and Megan dropped “Savage” and Nicki collaborated with Doja Cat on “Say So” on the same day. Nicki’s lyrics seemed to take jabs at Beyoncé, referencing Jay-Z’s rumored infidelity. The lines “Why you talking about who body fake? With all them fillers in your face, you just full of hate. That real ass and keep your man home, now you looking silly, that’s word to silicone” were interpreted by many as a direct response to Beyoncé’s verse in the “Savage” remix.
Nicki continued addressing Beyoncé in her song “Press Play,” explicitly calling her out and even labeling her as an “idiot.” She defended her own journey to success, contrasting it with Beyoncé’s presumably more privileged background. Additionally, Nicki criticized Beyoncé and Jay-Z for allegedly attempting to replace her with Megan, implying Megan was being used as a pawn in their game.
She spat, “They questioned why I could. Beyoncé’s dad wasn’t a businessman, mama wasn’t an entrepreneur. What a fool, you can’t be me, I’m already the epitome. I’ve been sizzling hot, they’re all eager to dive in. I’m your label’s obsession, you’re just another test subject.” What’s perplexing about Nicki going out of her way to diss Beyoncé is that Beyoncé has consistently shown support since day one.
They’ve collaborated on two successful songs, and Beyoncé has even brought her on stage to perform multiple times. Amidst her feud with Cardi B, Beyoncé displayed a photo of Nicki’s mug shot on stage in solidarity after Cardi’s attempted altercation during Fashion Week. The photo also made its way onto Beyoncé’s website, alongside a shoutout to Nicki in her “Break My Soul Queen’s Remix.” But as always, Nicki remains unsatisfied and perceives everyone as out to get her.
Although Beyoncé hasn’t publicly shown support for either Nicki or Megan, sources claim she’s firmly on Team Megan, hoping Megan continues to ignore Nicki’s drama. Naturally, this sparked a flurry of opinions, like one person stating, “Nicki Minaj seems to be the common denominator in all these feuds and negativity within the female rap community, which cannot be ignored. I used to be a fan of hers, and her talent is undeniable, but her values are questionable, and she’s starting to come off as a bitter veteran rapper. It’s a sad state of affairs at this point.”