Nicki Minaj Slams BET Awards, Says Network Hurts Artists “Who Have Always Supported Your Show”
On Thursday (June 27), Nicki Minaj thrashed BET on Twitter over a report that said the awards show drew its lowest ratings ever this past Sunday.
“When u go out of ur way to b spiteful & hurt artists who have always supported ur show… when you fire great ppl who have put their heart & soul into the show… when you’d rather be a messy reality show than a prestigious award show… when ur still being dragged by that lace,” Minaj wrote in response to the unconfirmed ratings report.
Music News Facts tweeted the stats that caught Minaj’s attention, highlighting the cumulative TV viewers who have previously watched the BET Awards, dating back to 2006. According to the screenshot, only 2 million viewers checked out this year’s festivities, making it an all-time low for the network. Though BET hasn’t yet offered a response to Minaj’s tweet, in a press release sent to Billboard, BET says this year’s awards show netted 12.7 million total viewers across eight Viacom networks.
Minaj’s scathing message follows her verbal skirmish with BET back in February, when an employee tweeted out the following from the network’s Twitter account: “Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj is being dragged by her lacefront,” in light of Cardi B winning best rap album at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
In return, Minaj and Young Money pulled out of this year’s BET Experience, issuing the following tweet: “Young Money will no longer be apart of the BET Experience or award show,” she tweeted. “Summer Tour dates dropping soon.”
Days later, BET issued a statement to Billboard, apologizing to Minaj: “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. 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. 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.”
Check out Minaj’s Thursday tweet below.
When u go out of ur way to b spiteful & hurt artists who have always supported ur show… when you fire great ppl who have put their heart & soul into the show… when you’d rather be a messy reality show than a prestigious award show… when ur still being dragged by that lace https://t.co/DOYKmgAlyr
— MEGATRON (@NICKIMINAJ) June 27, 2019