Nicki Minaj Defends Her Grammy Performance: They Wouldn’t Have Complained If I Was ‘Up There In A Skimpy Two-Piece’

Nicki Minaj’s performance at the Grammys on Sunday (a mock exorcism featuring a man dressed as the Pope) was quite polarizing, but the 29-year-old star says her fans understood her message.

“My young fans absolutely loved it. My core fans absolutely loved it because they know the story that I was portraying,” Nicki told Access Hollywood at MAC Cosmetic’s Viva Glam Launch in New York on Wednesday. “It’s been two years in the making. I don’t know who said you can’t do that. I mean, I’m going to do whatever I need to do to portray a story.

“I made a movie — it’s called, ‘Roman Holiday’… and in that movie, this is what happens to that Roman character. So, I had to paint the picture,” she added. “I can’t do a song like that and stand up there with a microphone and a band behind me – I have to paint the picture and I’m gonna always do that to the fullest.”

The “Super Bass” singer/rapper said she hopes no one “took offense” to the raucous performance, as it “absolutely was not meant to be offensive.”

“It was meant to say, love people for who they are and stop ridiculing and chastising and condemning people because they seem different — that’s the goal,” she told Access. “I think the people who needed to be touched by it were and the people who were going to have a problem with it anyway, had a problem.”

Adding, “They wouldn’t have a problem if I was up there in a skimpy two-piece, you know what I mean?”

Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More

Dolly Parton Reacts To Beyoncé Covering 'Jolene' On New Country Album 'Cowboy Carter'