Nicki Minaj Drops Out of BET Experience Over Network’s Offensive Tweet

Nicki Minaj at BET Awards (Credit: Deposit Photos)

Nicki Minaj has bowed out of the upcoming BET Experience, after BET insulted her on social media Sunday night during the Grammy Awards.

While congratulating Cardi B for becoming the first solo female rapper to win the Grammy for best rap album, BET took a shot at Minaj and captioned its post about Cardi B’s win: “Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj is being dragged by her lacefront.”

The tweet was quickly deleted, but not before Minaj’s fans — known as Barbz — grabbed screenshots and called the network out on social media.

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Minaj responded to the post on Monday, Feb. 11, by announcing she would no longer take part in the BET Experience or the BET Awards this summer.

“Young Money will no longer be apart of the BET Experience or award show,” the Barbie Dreams rapper tweeted, along with heart, praying hands and a unicorn emoji. “Summer Tour dates dropping soon.”

In a followup tweet, Minaj told fans she appreciates their support.

“I can’t thank you guys enough for all the love & support you continue to show me,” she tweeted. “To everyone who said something sweet, thank you. Whether I read it or not, I felt it. From the bottom of my heart. I love you so much. So so so soooo much. Stay tuned.”

Minaj and her fans weren’t the only ones offended by the tweet. The Los Angeles chapter of the National Black Public Relations Society also criticized BET on Twitter, saying people need to “be careful” with what they put on social media.

Minaj’s Young Money labelmate, Lil Wayne, was also booked to perform at the BET Experience in downtown Los Angeles. It’s unclear if he plans to cancel his appearance as well.

The music festival is scheduled to take place from June 20-23 at L.A. Live, leading up to the BET Awards. As of Monday afternoon, Minaj and Lil Wayne were still listed as performers on the festival’s website.

After BET came under fire for its social media post, the network issued an apology saying the tweet “does not reflect” its true feelings about Minaj.

“BET loves Nicki Minaj. We have supported her from the very beginning of her career and will continue to do so moving forward,” the Viacom-owned channel said in a statement Monday. “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.”

The network went on to say it is “conducting an internal audit to assure these types of posts are not published again.”

You can read BET’s full statement below.

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.

About Anita Bennett

Anita Bennett is the editor and founder of Urban Hollywood 411.