+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Nicki Minaj calls out fashion magazines for celebrating white artists, such as Billie Eilish and Lady Gaga, for dyeing their hair bright colors when she's been asked 'not to wear pink hair'

Mar 12, 2022, 02:04 IST
Insider
Nicki Minaj attends 2010 MTV Video Music Awards (left); Billie Eilish attends the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020 (right).Steve Granitz/Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
  • In a "Joe Budden Podcast" interview, Nicki Minaj discussed feeling excluded from fashion magazines.
  • She said she was asked to remove her pink hair for covers, while other celebs weren't.
Advertisement

On a podcast episode released on Wednesday, Nicki Minaj sat down with the rapper and media personality Joe Budden for a follow-up to their explosive pair of 2019 conversations. During their latest conversation for "The Joe Budden Podcast," Minaj spoke about her experience of feeling excluded from the fashion industry as a Black female rapper.

"Everybody knew me for wearing pink wigs," she told Budden during the discussion, at around the 54-minute mark.

"You would think the biggest female rapper of all time, who has set so many trends, would have been on the cover of American Vogue, but she hasn't," she said, referring to herself.

Minaj specifically called out fashion magazines for celebrating white artists, such as Billie Eilish, for setting fashion trends like colored hair, which Minaj has been known for doing for years. She said Eilish was "immediately put on American Vogue" with her green hair.

Minaj said she was asked not to wear her signature pink hair on magazine covers, and that she was instead displayed as a "stripped down" version of her colorful persona.

Advertisement

"They would always ask me not to wear pink hair. But I would see Katy Perry on the cover with pink hair, and I would see Lady Gaga on the cover with pink hair. I came in the game wearing pink hair," she said.

Minaj doesn't fault Eilish or Vogue's editor in chief, Anna Wintour, for the difference in how she says she's treated by fashion magazines

Nicki Minaj and Anna Wintour attend the Carolina Herrera Spring 2012 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage/Getty Images

Minaj didn't fault Eilish during the conversation for receiving her "shine" and said she was a fan of the "Bad Guy" singer.

"They're gonna say, 'Yeah, she put that on the map,' whether she put that on the map or not," Minaj said of Eilish. "She's successful. She's beautiful. She's got everybody wearing a certain hairstyle — I know I love her, and when she does do these covers, they're beautiful."

She explained why she thought it was important to comment on the disparity. "The reason why you gotta mention it, y'all, is because when we don't mention it, we are erased. They act like it didn't happen," she said. She and Budden then drew comparisons to Black musicians who "died poor," while others were credited for styles they innovated.

"People have to pay attention to what they're doing and how they're representing Black artists and Black people," she continued.

Advertisement

During the conversation, Minaj also advocated for another trendsetting rapper. "The same way I feel like I already should have been on the cover of American Vogue, so should Lil' Kim — if we keeping it all the way 1,000," she said.

She said her issue wasn't with American Vogue's long-standing editor in chief, Anna Wintour, who has drawn criticism for the publication's lack of diversity. "Anytime I've ever met Anna Wintour, she has been so gracious to me," Minaj said.

She clarified that her critique was directed at those who were "at that table with" Wintour when she made creative choices.

"It's your responsibility to wave the flag. You don't just put it on another face and another person," Minaj added.

Listen to Minaj's full conversation with Budden below.

Advertisement
The Joe Budden Podcast · 'A Conversation with Nicki Minaj and Joe Budden'
You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article