Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj are no longer fighting over MTV music awards, catapulting Twitter right back to its previously peaceful state.
Thank the pop powers that be.
After a brief feud of sorts involving Minaj's "Anaconda" Video of the Year snub, Swift's slim body, and not much else, Taylor has adopted the role of the bigger person and reached out to Nicki publicly to apologize for the "misunderstanding." Mmkay.
Let's talk about this.
"Anaconda" is a highly sexual, fabulous yet objectifying video during which Minaj and her clan of behinds stretch, dance, and assume various poses.
It is based directly off of Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back."
The vid for which Swift received her Video of the Year nod is "Bad Blood," an action-packed, special effects-heavy story depicting Swift and her friends as battle-ready badasses. It features rapper Kendrick Lamar, and is an original song that Swift wrote solo.
To be sure, both videos are visually stunning; the colors, choreography, and looks can't be beat.
Minaj's point that slim-bodied women are more highly celebrated in our culture than others was entirely accurate, and deserves attention in its own right. But let's share a moment of reality: it was meant as a passive aggressive dig at Swift. So why are we pretending otherwise?
Granted, it probably would have been wise for Swift to stay quiet and let Minaj play out her fit a capella. Regardless, Swift is now being hailed as the bad guy in this situation, and has chosen to embrace that.
While Minaj comes out with forgiveness roses.
As far as Minaj's Video of the Year snub, let's recap:
The song she performed in "Anaconda" was not original to her.
Though artistic, it relied solely on the objectification of female bodies in order to drive its storyline.
The name of the song itself is literally in reference to male genitals.
So perhaps the question is, what cultural issues should we really be challenging?
