Nicki Minaj made it clear that there was no bad blood between her and Taylor Swift when she praised the pop superstar on social media on Wednesday.
The 41-year-old rapper and singer took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to serenade the 34-year-old Eras Tour star for consistently putting out great music.
When she was asked about the possibility of a collaboration in the future, Nicki wrote that she would sign up ‘in a heartbeat.’
Her bubbly posts signaled that her 2015 Twitter feud with he hitmaker had long since faded away.
The enthusiastic response about potentially working with Taylor was also a far cry from how Nicki swiftly turned down her Monster collaborator Kanye West last week after he requested the use of their 2018 song New Body on his upcoming album Vultures.
Nicki Minaj, 41, said she would work with Taylor Swift ‘in a heartbeat’ in response to a fans query on Wednesday; seen in July in LA
She was clarifying her appreciation for the 34-year-old hitmaker after fans thought she was calling her out over her vinyl album sales earlier; seen together September 12 in Newark, New Jersey
Nicki’s initial praise for Taylor was a clarification after some Swifties thought she was critiquing the Cruel Summer singer when she slammed the Billboard charts for punishing her by deducting part of her album sales for her hit Pink Friday 2, as they were part of a fan contest.
Some fans thought the complaints were related to Taylor, who previously had the top five vinyl albums on the chart.
Nicki managed to break into the top 5, but Pink Friday 2 has so far stalled at number two, behind 1989 (Taylor’s Version), while she pushed one of Taylor’s LP’s out of the top five.
In her tweets from Wednesday, Nicki clarified that that she wasn’t taking issue with Taylor’s dominance of the vinyl LP market, and instead lavished compliments on her success and work ethic while encouraging her own fans to be as dedicated about buying her album’s as Taylor’s legion of fans.
‘The [Sagittarius] QUEEN TAYLOR DESERVES!!! PERIOD!!!!!’ Nicki began excitedly.
‘She takes months & years off then comes back with great music & fans who’ll never leave her!!!!
‘The END!!!!!!!’ she added, before clarifying, ‘I was simply discussing vinyls w/the barbz due to questions they had for me….’
She explained that, ‘We broke the record in vinyl sales for any female rap album in history. That means that retailers had no way of knowing that the vinyls would be in such high demand.
After Nicki complained about being docked on her vinyl sales by the Billboard vinyl chart, she clarified that Taylor, who dominated the top five, had ‘great music’ and ‘fans who’ll never leave her,’ while urging her fans to buy more of her own vinyl LPs
She made it clear that she was game for a Taylor collaboration, after her fans were disappointing that one didn’t appear on the rerecorded version of 1989
However, the kind clarification was a far cry from the contentious but short-lived Twitter feud the two had in 2015; pictured that year at the MTV Video Music Awards
‘Either way, now they do! That’s a marvelous thing!’ she gushed, adding, ‘Now it’s our turn.’
She continued, calling for a ‘CELEBRATION.’
‘I’m about to thank each & every artist on this album. But!!!! The point is that we have something to aspire to as we watch the SAG QUEEN Taylor & the swifties & Republic Records,’ she concluded.
Nicki also made it clear that the matter was settled.
‘Any more questions on this?’ she wrote. ‘Who’d like to get cussed TF out?’
One of Nicki’s fans took the opportunity to quiz her about a potential ‘collab’ with Taylor in the replies.
Nick responded that she would work with Taylor ‘in a heart beat.’
Billboard noted that many of Taylor and Nicki’s fans got excited about the prospect of a collaboration with the release of Taylor’s rerecorded version of 1989 after a Google puzzle featuring Swift-themed terms included ‘Sagittarius,’ which they took to be a reference to Nicki, as she and the Shake It Off singer share that astrological sign.
However, when the final tracklist was unveiled, fans were disappointed to see Nicki wasn’t anywhere to be found.
After Nicki’s Anaconda missed out on an Video of the Year nom at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, Nicki complained about videos celebration ‘women with very thin bodies,’ which Taylor took a dig at herself, as she and Beyoncé were the only female nominees; seen in 2011
Nicki’s bubbly tweets about Taylor’s music were starkly different from her testy exchanges with the Anti-Hero singer back in 2015.
Their contentious interactions began in July, shortly after the MTV Video Music Awards nominations were announced.
Taylor was nominated in the Video of the Year category for Bad Blood featuring Kendrick Lamar, but Nicki’s video for Anaconda was absent from the top category, though her Feeling Myself collaborator Beyoncé was nominated for 7/11.
Still, the Super Bass singer managed to secure three nominations at the show.
Shortly after the nominations were announced, Taylor excited tweeted at her fans and urged them to vote for her.
‘GUYS!! You got Bad Blood nominated for Video of the Year at the VMA‘s!! Vote here pleeeeease?’ she wrote.
Nicki took a different tack and referenced her lack of a nomination in the Video of the Year category.
‘Lol u guys did we miss the deadline??’ she tweeted.
But Nicki acted as if she was confused why Taylor would ever think she was referring to her; seen in July in Kansas City, Missouri
In a follow-up, she added: ‘When the “other” girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination.’
Hours later, she continued: ‘If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year.’
Taylor then took Nicki’s posts to be a swipe at her, which she referenced in her own tweet.
‘@nickiminaj 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,’ she shot back.
But the Pink Friday rapper responded as if she didn’t know what Taylor was talking about.
‘Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn’t say a word about u,’ she replied. ‘I love u just as much. But u should speak on this.’
Nicki’s tweets strained credibility, though, as the only other woman nominated in the category was Beyoncé, whom she had worked with on Feeling Myself.
If she hadn’t been referring to Taylor, then she was either lumping the Renaissance singer in with ‘women with very slim bodies’ — despite her celebrating her curvaceous figure on her most recent LP — or referring to nominations from years past to cite a trend, though her tweets didn’t make any indication of that.
But despite claiming to not be referring to Taylor, she still urged her to ‘speak on this’
Other nominees, including Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran, adding joking tweets to the feud, and Taylor’s then-nemesis Katy Perry and Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul also offered opinions; seen in May in Nashville
‘@taylorswift I’m still confused as to why u just tweeted me when I made it abundantly clear…’ Nicki continued.
In response, the former country singer tried to defuse the situation by making the rapper an offer.
‘@nickiminaj If I win, please come up with me!! You’re invited to any stage I’m ever on,’ she tweeted.
As fans of both artists started reacting to the apparent online feud, Nicki again claimed that she wasn’t targeting Taylor.
‘Nothing I said had to do with Taylor. So what jabs?’ she wrote, before blaming ‘White media and their tactics.
‘So sad. That’s what they want,’ she added.
Other stars saw an opportunity to have fun with the spat.
Bruno Mars, who was nominated the same year for his Mark Ronson collaboration Uptown Funk, poked fun at fellow nominee Ed Sheeran in a tension-defusing tweet.
‘Yo I want in on this twitter Beef!! VMAs is the new WWF!! @edsheeran F*** You!’ he joked.
Ed replied: ‘any way we do dis you gon’ come up short.’
But he ended up stepping in it with Nicki’s fans when he was quoted as calling her arguments ‘redundant’ to BuzzFeed UK, and he later said the comments were taken out of context.
Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul also jumped into the fray and wrote that he ‘loved’ both hitmakers.
‘How about we all get together and talk this thru? Coffee? Pancakes?? My treat,’ he wrote.
Taylor ended the feud definitively by apologizing to Nicki on Twitter, which the rapper accepted. ‘That means so much Taylor, thank you,’ she wrote
Katy Perry, Taylor’s former feuding partner — and the presumed subject of her song Bad Blood — then tweeted out that she found it ‘ironic’ that Taylor would write about ‘pit[ting] women against other women,’ as she was ‘capitaliz[ing] on the take down of a woman.’
Eventually, Taylor ended the feud definitively when she issued Nicki an apology.
‘I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke. I’m sorry, Nicki,’ she wrote.
Nicki replied, ‘That means so much Taylor, thank you,’ signaling that she was also done with the back and forth.