Nicki Minaj 'Very Sorry' After Outcry Over Nazi Symbolism In Video
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Rapper Nicki Minaj apologized Tuesday after her new video was criticized as being "insensitive to Holocaust survivors" and an "abuse of Nazi imagery."
National Director of the Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman called the video "a new low for pop culture's exploitation of Nazi symbolism" Monday.
"I didn't come up with the concept, but I'm very sorry and take full responsibility if it has offended anyone," Minaj Tweeted. "I'd never condone Nazism in my art."
The ADL quickly welcomed Minaj's apology.
"We are pleased that Nicki Minaj has taken full responsibility for the video and recognized that it was indeed offensive," Foxman said. "Her clear renunciation of Nazism is an important step. We hope that she will take further steps to educate herself and her fans about who the Nazis were and why we should never take genocide or the Holocaust lightly."
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(Warning: Video contains very explicit language)
The video is for Minaj's "Only," which also features rappers Drake and Lil Wayne and singer Chris Brown.
The video features the track's lyrics superimposed over animated images.
Minaj is depicted in front of squads of standing men who resemble stormtroopers, who are wearing red armbands around their left arms and a "YM" logo in a white circle against a red backdrop.
Other images in the video depict rows of tanks and Minaj on a throne surrounded by tall red banners featuring a "YM" logo, which stands for "Young Money," the name of Minaj's record label.
The video had been viewed nearly 2 million times on YouTube as of Tuesday morning.
Both the producer, & person in charge of over seeing the lyric video (one of my best friends & videographer: A. Loucas), happen to be Jewish
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) November 11, 2014
I 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, 2014
#ADL welcomed statement from pop artist @NICKIMINAJ apologizing to her fans for new music video >> http://t.co/teg4q71iGx #NickiMinaj
— ADL News (@ADL_News) November 11, 2014
Minaj, a Queens native, is no stranger to controversy. Her video for the song "Anaconda" raised eyebrows this summer for its overly sexual images of women.
"Some people are going to understand the messages that you're trying to deliver," Jermaine Hall, editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine, told CBS 2's Don Champion Monday. "Some people are going to understand you pushing the envelope and trying to push a project. And some people are going to be absolutely mortified."
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