"I'd never condone Nazism in my art."
Since Nicki Minaj's lyric video for "Only" dropped Saturday, plenty of people have been outraged due to what they see as blatant Nazi imagery in the five-minute video. On Tuesday, the rapper took to Twitter to finally address all the uproar.
In a move uncharacteristic for the outspoken Nicki, she apologized if the video "offended anyone," yet she also claims she didn't "come up with the concept."
"The artist who made the lyric video for 'Only' was influenced by a cartoon on Cartoon Network called 'Metalocalypse' & Sin City," she tweeted. "Both the producer, & person in charge of over seeing the lyric video (one of my best friends & videographer: A. Loucas), happen to be Jewish."
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"I didn't come up w/the concept, but I'm very sorry & take full responsibility if it has offended anyone," she added. "I'd never condone Nazism in my art."
The artist who made the lyric video for “Only” was influenced by a cartoon on Cartoon Network called "Metalocalypse" & Sin City.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) November 11, 2014I didn't come up w/the concept, but I'm very sorry & take full responsibility if it has offended anyone. I'd never condone Nazism in my art.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) November 11, 2014Directed by Jeff Osborne, the video portrays Nicki as a military dictator surrounded by red banners resembling those used by the Nazi Party during World War II. Soldiers are also shown with red armbands, mirroring those worn by Nazi soldiers. A gas mask also appears towards the end of the clip.
The video for the single featuring Drake, Lil Wayne and Chris Brown is also pretty surprising given Drake's half-Jewish heritage.
The Anti-Defamation League has already spoke out against the video, with this statement on Monday.
"Nicki Minaj's new video disturbingly evokes Third Reich propaganda and constitutes a new low for pop culture’s exploitation of Nazi symbolism," Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director said. "It is troubling that no one among Minaj's group of producers, publicists and managers raised a red flag about the use of such imagery before ushering the video into public release. This video is insensitive to Holocaust survivors and a trivialization of the history of that era."
And though Nicki calls out the producer and videographer in the creation of the video, she did stress in a new Billboard interview that she's in charge of everything when it comes to her career.
"People don't know how heavily involved I am in my own career," she said. "I'm on 15 to 25 conference calls every few days strategizing with my team. I think a lot of artists sit back and have it done for them. Sometimes as women in the industry -- if you're sexy or like doing sexy things -- some people subconsciously negate your brain. They think you're stupid."
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Nicki made no comment on the video Sunday when she hosted the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards in Glasgow, Scotland. Check out the highlights of the star-studded show below.