A simmering feud between two prominent hip-hop artists reached its boiling point this past Sunday evening when Nicki Minaj delivered a blistering public attack against Lizzo through social media channels. The confrontation marks a dramatic escalation in tensions that have been building for months, fueled by political disagreements, personal grievances and competing visions of celebrity responsibility in an increasingly polarized cultural landscape.
Minaj’s inflammatory remarks surfaced hours after the Grammy Awards ceremony concluded, an event she chose not to attend. The rapper took aim at multiple facets of Lizzo’s public image, including her physical transformation, recent musical releases and ongoing litigation. The severity of the criticism stunned industry observers, particularly given that the two had previously maintained friendly relations and mutual respect.
Political Comments Spark Heated Exchange
The genesis of this conflict stretches back to December, when Lizzo publicly criticized Minaj’s decision to appear at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest alongside conservative activist Erika Kirk. The singer suggested that celebrities were increasingly gravitating toward certain political movements primarily for financial gain rather than authentic ideological commitment.
Lizzo predicted audiences would witness a surge of public figures making similar calculated decisions in coming years, driven more by profit margins and protecting privilege than genuine conviction. She stressed that fans should not find such alignments surprising given the economic pressures inherent to maintaining celebrity status and the current political administration’s expanding influence over cultural institutions.
Those December comments clearly festered in Minaj’s consciousness, building resentment that eventually erupted following Trevor Noah’s joke during the Grammy broadcast. The comedian quipped that Minaj was absent from the ceremony because she was at the White House discussing pressing policy matters with Donald Trump, a reference to her recent conservative-leaning public positioning that generated substantial laughter from the audience and viewers.
Attacks Turn Deeply Personal
Minaj‘s retaliation extended far beyond political disagreement into intensely personal territory that many critics viewed as crossing fundamental boundaries of decency. She ridiculed Lizzo’s physical transformation and cast doubt on the commercial viability of her recent musical projects. The rapper specifically referenced loose skin resulting from significant weight loss, insinuating that the dramatic physical changes produced no meaningful benefit to her career trajectory or album sales.
The assault also addressed ongoing legal challenges facing Lizzo. Three former backup dancers initiated a lawsuit alleging fat shaming behaviors and sexual harassment, claiming she fostered a toxic and hostile work environment. A judge dismissed the fat shaming component of the lawsuit in December, though the harassment allegations remain active and unresolved. The case proceeds as a civil matter rather than criminal prosecution, though Minaj’s characterization of the charges as weird blurred those important legal distinctions in public perception.
Lizzo has not released a complete studio album since 2022’s Special, though she did distribute a mixtape titled My Face Hurts from Smiling in 2025. Minaj’s reference to selling 300 albums appears wholly disconnected from verifiable reality, as no recent Lizzo project corresponds to that figure. The wild exaggeration served rhetorical and emotional purposes rather than aiming for factual precision or accuracy.
Divided Reactions Across Social Media
Public response to Minaj’s comments fractured sharply along predictable ideological and fandom lines. Supporters of Lizzo emphasized her impressive Grammy success, noting she has accumulated more awards than Minaj throughout their respective careers. They questioned why Minaj would attack someone who demonstrated commitment to personal health objectives and highlighted the glaring hypocrisy of body shaming given Minaj’s own documented history with cosmetic surgical procedures and enhancements.
Minaj’s dedicated fanbase argued that Lizzo initiated the entire conflict by commenting on political choices that fell outside her legitimate concern or expertise. They contended that the singer unnecessarily inserted herself into controversial territory and received proportional and deserved pushback for those inflammatory statements. Nevertheless, many observers across both camps acknowledged that body shaming constitutes unacceptable behavior regardless of who initially provoked the disagreement or escalated tensions.
The exchange simultaneously prompted broader discussions about celebrity activism and questions of authenticity in public advocacy. Lizzo’s suggestion that financial considerations fundamentally drive political alignments resonated strongly with observers skeptical of sudden ideological transformations among wealthy public figures. Others interpreted her comments as presumptuous and inappropriate, assigning mercenary motivations to deeply personal decisions she could not possibly comprehend or evaluate fairly.
Relationship Deteriorates Dramatically
The current animosity represents a jarring departure from previous interactions between the two artists. At the 2025 Met Gala, Lizzo expressed sincere admiration for Minaj, describing herself as genuinely starstruck by the rapper’s beauty, charisma and commanding presence. She praised their warm conversation and appeared honored to occupy the same cultural space with someone she transparently respected and admired, placing Minaj among the elite figures of hip-hop alongside artists like Kendrick Lamar.
That goodwill dissolved completely amid intensifying political polarization and conflicting narratives about celebrity obligations to social causes. The feud demonstrates how rapidly professional relationships can deteriorate when public figures adopt strong positions on divisive issues, particularly when financial motivations behind those stances get publicly questioned or challenged.
Minaj also responded to Noah’s Grammy joke by advancing unsubstantiated claims about his personal life, posting images intended to draw questionable connections between various public figures and controversial associations. The scattered, unfocused approach suggested deeper frustration with perceived slights from multiple sources rather than concentrated grievance with any single individual or specific incident.
The timeline for potential reconciliation or further escalation remains uncertain, but the damage to whatever relationship previously existed between Minaj and Lizzo appears substantial and quite possibly irreparable.
