Why Nicki Minaj and Latto Are Exchanging Insults After Grammy Shake-Up

Nicki Minaj and Latto have been involved in a heated Twitter exchange after the Grammy Awards changed the category that one of Minaj's songs is being listed under.

The Recording Academy moved the musician's 2022 hit "Super Freaky Girl" from being considered for a nomination in the rap category into the pop category.

The nominations for the awards haven't yet been revealed and will be announced on November 15. The awards take place on February 6, 2023.

Minaj has protested the switch on her Twitter account, telling her 26.6 million followers she would have "no problem" with the situation if "all" artists were being treated the same way.

She then brought fellow star Latto into the conversation, saying her song "Big Energy" should be moved as well.

On October 13, Minaj, 39, wrote: "I have no prob being moved out the RAP category as long as we r ALL being treated FAIRLY. If SFG (Super Freaky Girl) has 2B moved out RAP then so does Big Energy!"

"ANY1 who says diff is simply a Nicki hater or a troll," she added.

Latto then seemingly responded to Minaj's post, though she did not address her directly, tweeting: "Damn I can't win for losing... all these awards/noms I can't even celebrate."

This is presumably in reference to the American Music Awards as earlier in the day, on October 13, Latto received multiple AMA nominations, including Favorite Hip-Hop Song for "Big Energy."

Minaj and Latto, real name Alyssa Michelle Stephens, then seemingly spoke via Twitter direct messages, but things were brought back onto their public pages when, according to Variety, Minaj posted a screenshot of an apparent DM Latto had sent her. This has since been deleted.

Latto, 23, then posted a series of tweets that directly addressed Minaj, writing: "I've ignored countless subtweets since March and instead addressed u in the dm. You're asking why I didn't speak up in ur defense... it's the same answer I gave u when u asked why I didn't congratulate you. Ur literally older than my mom tryna be a bully @NICKIMINAJ."

Latto then accused Minaj of sending her "random shade," and expressed her disappointment over the situation as she had "looked up to" Minaj, and even named her as her "dream collab" in a past interview.

Latto then said Minaj told her she "wasn't flourishing," something which Minaj appeared to take particular offense to.

When a fan tweeted Minaj saying that she can't imagine her using the word "flourishing," the star responded: "Exactly," alongside a laughing emoji.

Latto further called Minaj a "bully" and said she was "related to rapists." In 2020, Minaj's brother, Jelani Maraj, was sentenced 25 years to life in prison for predatory sexual assault.

In July 2022, Minaj's husband, Kenneth Petty, was sentenced to a year of home detention for failing to register as a sex offender.

Petty was required to inform authorities when he relocated to California with Minaj in 2019 due to an attempted rape conviction from 1995, but he later admitted failing to do so.

At the time of writing, Minaj and Latto appear to have stopped tweeting each other.

Meanwhile, during the Twitter argument, Minaj posted a 17-minute video on Instagram explaining her position on the Grammys moving the song to a different category.

In the clip she said: "If you can't tell by now that there is a concerted effort to give newer artists things that they really don't deserve over people who have been deserving for many years, then you're not paying attention. And by the way, this is not to say any song is bad or any female rapper is bad. I always say this: Any rapper, female or male, that wins a Grammy, you should be f***ing proud of yourself. But why is the goalpost only ever moved when it's Nicki? Well, I'll tell you why. They don't want the people that they have in the industry to go up against me.

"If "Super Freaky Girl" is pop, then so is "Big Energy." If you move "Super Freaky Girl" out of rap and put it in pop, do the same with "Big Energy." Right? Same producers on both songs, by the way, if you want to talk about it. So let's keep sh** fair."

She further accused the Grammy categories of being "purposely designed" so the she has "less of a chance to win," and said that there is an "agenda" against her.

She continued: "They move the goalposts when it comes to me because in order for them to uplift the people who they want to shine, the people who these corporate giants can make the money off of, the people who control a lot of things behind the scenes, they have to elevate someone that they profit off."

Newsweek has contacted representatives for Minaj, Latto and the Grammys for comment.