Rap Artist Nicki Minaj Thanks Pastor While Accepting VMA Award
Well-known female rap artist Nicki Minaj thanked her pastor while accepting the Best Hip Hop Video for her hit "Anaconda" at MTV's Video Music Awards on Sunday night, shortly before continuing an ongoing feud with fellow artist and host Miley Cyrus.
"This is so random, you know who I want to thank tonight? My pastor," Minaj told the audience after taking the stage to accept her award. "Thank you, Pastor Lydia. I love you so much."
Minaj then turned her attention toward host Cyrus, reportedly calling the pop performer a vulgarity before saying: "And now...back to this [expletive] that had a lot to say about me in the press. Miley, what's good?"
Cyrus responded by saying: "Hey, we are all in this industry and we all do interviews and say [expletive]. Nicki, congratulations."
Minaj was presumably referencing a recent interview published by the New York Times earlier this week, in which Cyrus suggested that Minaj had not properly handled a social media altercation with Taylor Swift earlier in the year.
"I saw that. I didn't really get into it. I know there was some beef," Cyrus told the New York Times. "I don't really know. There's a way to talk to people. [...] What I read sounded very Nicki Minaj, which is you know Nicki Minaj is not too kind. It's not very polite. I think there's a way you speak to people with openness and love."
