Photo: WENN
Katy Perry has entered the debate between Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift over racism in the music industry, pointing out how Swift, in her view, immeasurably "capitalizes on the take down of a woman."
The debate was prompted by the announcement of the MTV VMA nominations - of which Nicki Minaj received three, but her Beyonce collaboration, 'Feeling Myself', was snubbed, and 'Anaconda' failed to be recognised in the choreography category.
"If I was a different 'kind' of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well," tweeted Minaj. She then added, "When the 'other' girls drop a video that breaks records and impacts culture they get that nomination. If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year."
Interpreting this as a direct reference to her own nomination for 'Bad Blood', Taylor Swift decided to respond - a decision that many have deemed to be derailing. "I've done nothing but love & support you," she wrote. "It's unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot.."
Now, Katy Perry, with whom Swift is reportedly not on the best of terms (in fact, the 'Bad Blood' song and video is widely considered to be about Perry after Swift dropped some strong hints last year), has waded in. The singer tweeted to point out the irony of Swift's argument when 'Bad Blood', in her opinion, "unmeasurably [sic] capitalizes on the take down of a woman..."
Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman...
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 22, 2015
The real travesty is where is the shine for #BBHMMVideo when VMA eligibility period was 7/7/14-7/1/15 & that gem dropped 7/1... @MTV
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 22, 2015
The VMAs aren't the first awards to have accusations of racism levelled against them. This is an industry, after all, that frequently profits from black culture while simultaneously prioritising white artists. This year's Grammys came under fire when every single Best New Artist nominee and Record Of The Year nominee was white.
