Nicki Minaj, 36, spilled some major tea in her newest episode of Queen Radio on June 21, when she finally explained why she threw shade at Grammys producer, Ken Ehrlich, this past February. The rapper claimed that moments before her 2012 performance, Grammy officials told her that they didn’t want her to take the stage, following Whitney Houston‘s death. Nicki said that she didn’t understand their reasoning.
“Even then it made absolutely no sense […] This is after I had done a bunch of commercials with L.L. Cool J to promote the Grammys […],” Nicki said. “After I did everything they asked, they told me not to perform. I said, ‘No I’m going to perform.'” The performance, which included religious imagery, was later criticized by the Catholic church. And because Nicki had refused to back out of the show, she claims it prompted Ken to blackball her.
We first caught wind of the bad blood between Nicki and Ken on February 11, thanks to a tweet the rapper shared with her followers. “I pissed off the same man Ariana just called out for lying,” Nicki started. “Grammy producer KEN. I was bullied into staying quiet for 7 years out of fear. But I’ll tell my fans the REAL on the next episode of #QueenRadio they deserve the truth,” she went on to say.
It was just a few weeks before, on Feb. 7, that Ariana Grande made a similar statement. After Ken blamed Ariana’s 2019 Grammy no-show on a lack of time, Ariana tweeted a screen-grab from the article, and told her side of the story. “I’ve kept my mouth shut but now you’re lying about me. i can pull together a performance over night and you know that, Ken. it was when my creativity & self expression was stifled by you, that i decided not to attend. i hope the show is exactly what you want it to be and more.”