Did Nicki Minaj just indirectly prove that everything’s still good between her and Taylor Swift? The 40-year-old rapper took to her Twitter this week and quoted some of the lyrics of the 33-year-old singer’s new single “Anti-Hero” for her fans, who she called her ‘barbz.” She didn’t add any explanation with the tweets, but they received a lot of responses.
Dear Barbz,
It must be exhausting always rooting for the Anti-hero 😔
🦄
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) March 25, 2023
“I shoulder not be left to my own vices,” Nicki’s first Taylor-related tweet read. She followed it up with another that mentioned the chorus of the song. “It must be exhausting always rooting for the Anti-hero,” it read, along with two emojis, including a face and a unicorn.
I should not be left to my own vices
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) March 25, 2023
Once the tweets went public, her fans were quick to tweet their own messages. Some called her a “swiftie,” referring to the nickname for Taylor’s fans, while another called the tweets “epic.” Other fans suspected she was hinting toward a possible future collaboration with the Midnights creator. “What are you two up to?” one tweet asked.
Nicki’s tweets that include Taylor’s lyrics come seven years after she and the fellow musician made headlines for exchanging tense words on Twitter while talking about the nominations for the Video of the Year category of the 2015 Video Music Awards. After Nicki pointed out that she felt her songs “Anaconda” and “Feelin Myself” were snubbed, Taylor, whose “Bad Blood” video was nominated, took it as a personal jab and shared her disappointment with Nicki’s words.
“If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year,” Nicki’s original tweet about the nominations read. “I’ve done nothing but love & support you. It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot,” Taylor’s response read. She also insisted Nicki could come up on stage with her if she won.
Once Nicki insisted her tweet was not about Taylor, the “Fearless” crooner publicly apologized and explained why she responded the way she did. “I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke. I’m sorry, Nicki,” she wrote. Nicki accepted her apology and praised her for taking the step to make amends. The two went on to take the stage together for a performance at the 2015 VMAs, proving all was well between them.
Since then, things have seemed to stay good between Nicki and Taylor. The latter was seen rocking out to the former’s performance of her biggest hits in the audience of the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, and Nicki’s latest tweets seem to indicate their friendship and respect for each other remains in tact.