Nicki Minaj Can’t Give White Women Permission To BlackFish

Calling out White women who want our rhythm and not our blues

Jay Nelson Blackfishing alongside Nicki Minaj | Photo Credit | Nicki Minaj Twitter Account

So, Nicki Minaj is playing with fire once again. A few weeks back, she found herself in the hot seat after spreading false information about vaccines. That’s wild because Black people are more likely to die of COVID, so spreading these lies hurt the Black community. While Minaj claimed her cousin’s friend had swollen you-know-what, Trinidad’s minister came out to dispel the myth.

But, despite her fans stanning it up, Nicki Minaj has consistently found herself on the wrong side of controversy regarding Blackness, womanhood, and common decency. Then there was that time when Jelani Maraj, Minaj’s brother, faced predatory sexual assault charges for abusing an 11-year-old girl. Still, Minaj advocated for leniency and his release.

Then, there’s her husband, Kenneth Petty, who got convicted for first-degree attempted rape. “Petty and Nicki Minaj were recently sued by the woman who said Petty attempted to assault her in 1995 (Pitch Fork).” So, forgive me if I’m not jumping to soak up Nicki Minaj’s opinions on race or womanhood— that’s an area the Barb has insufficient clout to speak on.

Nevertheless, Nicki Minaj has over 22 million followers on Twitter, many of them who deeply value her opinion. That’s growing exceedingly dangerous as Minaj throws her support behind Jesy Nelson, who got caught black-handed. It turns out she wasn’t Black or mixed; she’s just White and likes to play dress up as a Black woman. Times like this bring the message down to earth — “they want our rhythm but not our blues.”

Blackfishing is more than just trying to “look, Black.” It’s about trying to “act Black,” mirroring mannerisms, style, makeup, fashion. One White woman’s video went viral as she tried to refine her “Black” voice. White women pretending to be Black women is racist and very cringe-worthy. They are essentially taking advantage of the fact that Black people come in every shade to mask as Black. But their chameleon tactics are offensive.