One of the sobering aspects about raising a teenage girl is discovering your own uncoolness as a parent. Your little baby, who used to scream “Mommy!” and run into your arms in the elementary school parking lot? She’s gone. She’s been replaced by a very serious mini-grownup. She will be mortified by her parental units at every turn. One of my passive-aggressive guilty pleasures is to feed this embarrassment. Just a bit. I do things like playing Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” and declaring that it’s “my favorite song.” Poor kid will probably never forgive me.
Nicki has some embarrassment of her own to deal with. Okay, maybe she’s not hanging her head, but Nicki is upset. She planned to speak at LaGuardia High School in NYC (where she graduated from in 2000). Nicki was excited to dazzle students with tales of inspiration until she was turned away by the principal. She angst-tweeted her disappointment:
I wanted to go back to my HS and speak to the students but the new principal declined. No need for me to inspire them, I guess. Smh
— Anaconda (@NICKIMINAJ) September 11, 2014
That school changed my life and I wanted to pay it forward to the students there now. I was really looking forward to it.
— Anaconda (@NICKIMINAJ) September 11, 2014
My intial reaction was that the principal thought Nicki was too controversial to speak to students. Nicki’s lyrical stylings might be too much. She’s always putting her (fake) butt on display. Plus all of Nicki’s public feuding (this week’s Star says Nicki is now shading Mariah Carey for driving Nick Cannon away). Buuut. LaGuardia specializes in visual and performing arts. Artsty fartsy begs for attention are standard biz.
Nicki’s fans were outraged on her behalf and blew this story up on Twitter. In response, the NYC Department of Ed issued a statement: “We do not allow reality TV to be filmed on school property. For documentaries, any visit to a public school must be educational in nature and cannot intrude on instruction, and the decision about whether we can accommodate visits from celebrities is entirely up to the Principal.” There you have it. Nicki wasn’t doing something entirely selfless. She was using the school for her own benefit, and she didn’t tell the whole truth on Twitter.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN
I wouldn’t want her speaking at my school either
ditto.
Ditto.
She didn’t just want to visit for the sake of the students tho. She wanted free publicity. The NY Dept of Ed made it clear they did not want cameras following. She refused to leave the cameras home. So her gesture wasn’t even genuine. I’m glad those details were included because the stink she caused about being “turned down” was the story and not the truth of what happened.
I’m all for people, famous and unfamous, coming back to talk to students no matter how provocative their line of work. But laguardia is a HUGE behemoth of a school right across the street from another HUGE school. She would have caused a frenzy. And it would have been on camera. I usually like her a lot, but she’s wrong here.
I think that’s the worst part. She insisted the MTV cameras be with her. If she really wanted to inspire the kids, she would have had her people organise something with the school, and without cameras. There would have been lots of buzz about it anyway, and she would have done something good, with grace.
But of course she has none …
Oh good a few of you mentioned the real deal already.
I would also like to add, she did this on 9/11 and now the principal is getting death threats from Minaj fans…she’s a narcissistic twit.
Nikki is beautiful. With her ass cheeks as the focus of her celebrity…why is she surprised that she wasn’t welcomed with open arms by school administrators?
I know – just don’t get it…
How could she possibly inspire kids?
Hey kids, road to success: get a giant fake butt, have it continually on display, rap with a ridiculous voice and claim it’s a character and get in messy twitter fights with everyone you come across……
What a role model! !!!!!
Haha … Love it!!!
She sounds custom made for kids today. (no, that’s not sarcasm)
Yes, to all of the above and below – really, she has a “reality” show. Who watches this stuff when there are so many more interesting things to do than essentially be part of this brainless twit’s marketing campaign.
i feel like she’s always in a fight with someone
Well done to the Dept of Ed for gently pointing out that her tears are somewhat crocodilian.
I know, such a perfect response.
So? I don’t see how the school’s statement really changes anything. How is it for her “own benefit”. She’s probably doing another documentary about her trying to navigate as a woman in this business and how to stay successful and relevant and she thought that it would be good to show how far she’s come by going back to where she started and speaking at her school, which could probably also help a lot of the students there. I don’t really see the issue with documenting it since schools do that all the time.
I think the school is wrong to have said no especially since Nicki is a pretty great role model. She’s contiously telling her fans to stay in school (I swear in almost every interview she mentions that getting an education is one of the most important things in this world and that the best thing you can bring her at a meet and greet as your degree), she’s a feminist, she supports the LGBT community and has called out radio hosts for transphobic comments as she’s being interviewed and has been really careful to use language that will allow for her transgender fans to feel comfortable. For all her faults she’s got a lot of positive things going for her.
Btw Nicki and her team hadn’t been given a reason at the time as to why she couldn’t speak so I don’t see this as her “hiding” anything either way. I think them saying no had more to do with them not liking the way that she dresses, what she says and that she’s a rapper.
Or maybe the principal is a hard core Sir Mix-A-Lot fan and disapproves of murder…
LMAO!! Nice burn, Tapioca.
Nikki was doing it for Nikki.
Nina, we agree on one thing, it’d be nice if girls didn’t look to famous people as role models. But they do. Seems KK started the derrière business, Minaj isn’t the only one, now seems to be the norm for many.
You ask if she should go out of her way to promote education? Yes! If she wanted to go to this school & speak, that’s the point of the whole article…
I have no clue as to what you meant about Taylor Swift on relatability? Hardly hear about her…
As far as shading or outbursts, Minaj herself says she is the “female Kanye cynt”
Sadly, everyone knows who Miley Cyrus is! Hopefully her 15 mins is almost up.
Exactly. I feel people know (or want to know) only one side of her so they can make fun of her but she is quite intelligent and ambitious. Even with her silly wigs and acts, she knows what she stands for:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmj5uVbM-RA
When she was not famous, she wasn’t doing the usual waitressing jobs, she worked herself up. She does value and promote education.
You need to be tough in that industry and you need to have an act to sell. She’s no saint but never read about her personal values have no business dismissing this woman’s work ethic and achievements.
Meh… when your “act to sell” is ginormous butt cheek implants, youre in the same league as the Kardashians. That wasnt the move of a woman who was hoping to be respected for her intelligence… so don’t be upset when that’s how people see you
Lex, why are you saying she put the ass implants in for men? Lmao, if you knew anything about Nicki Minaj, you would know that’s far from the truth. We don’t even know if they ARE implants, but if that’s the case, who cares? It’s kinda obvious she loves her body and she loves speaking about how she loves her body. Curvy women can’t be respected for their intelligence because of their body shape? What? Do my volumptious bossoms distract you from what I’m saying? That’s not really my fault.
We need to stop women (and people in general) making other women feel bad for making themselves more attractive to THEMSELVES with plastic surgery.
Nicki Minaj is a dead-ass feminist. Everything she stands for screams ‘I’m a free woman, I’m as good as you are, this is me, f**k y’all’. I think it’s really sad that so many people only see her body (and that itself is something Nicki is trying to fight against).
Anna, I’m 100% standing behind your statement.
I know people that have had to work with her, and they say she is horrible and abusive to people (screaming, throwing things at people, etc.). She is not a ” dead-ass feminist” if she tries to hit women while they do their jobs.
Uh oh…@Tiffany you are breaking out with the reality of things. So many people in entertainment are no good. They think they can hide their trashy personalities, but it all comes through.
@Lex
Her act is being a rapper. She has many things to sell, you focus/see on one aspect. Male rappers have been doing what Nicki does for ages, nobody would compare them to Kardashians. Have you ever read an interview/speech when she talks about empowerment or confidence? I think not because Nicki actually started out hoping she could DEsexualise herself and her goofy ugly clothes were part of that.
Plus everybody on this site compares the celeb they dislike to a Kardashian when it’s never comparable. They are reality stars who do nothing really, Nicki is still a performer who writes her own lyrics as well.
@Tiffany
So is Rihanna and we have accounts of her behaviour. But she’s forgiven for some reason. She’s also been sexual since god knows how long but she ‘owns it’, she’s ‘badass’. Nicki is just a bitch.
Also, I side-eye these stories because they tried that with Naomi Campbell when she was young (and not aggressive by all accounts), because she owned her place as a black model and demanded equal pay and treatment like her white contemporaries. Then stories began floating around about her ‘unprofessional behaviour’ when it simply wasn’t true.
Nina, there is no WAY I’d want my teenage girl looking up to minaj. She can have her breast & butt implants if that’s her choice. Do we have to see her naked fake body parts in all sorts of contortions? No, that’s our choice. I would want a teenage girl to accept herself as she is. Not to feel the need to grotesquely disfigure her derrière to accommodate the current hip hop culture trend of late.
Nor would I want girls to emulate her shading & jealous feuding w/others to keep on the spotlight… She is as much a feminist as self-proclaimed feminist Miley Cyrus. Anyone happen to see the video this w/e of Miley & her dancers wearing the gargantuan fake butts twerking in her video? Enough said. Thank God the principal just said no.
Artemis, my point is she may have started out with trying to “desexualize herself w/”ugly” clothes, but that didn’t bring her the results she wanted. So she sold out & went for the shock value, which again is her choice. Why model that to a group of impressionable young high school teens whose chance of being a well known rapper is very slim. Or for them to emulate that disproportionate figure. There are so many horror stories of bodily deformities, nerve damage, infection & death from butt implants &. Fat transfers to the butt…
I don’t see male rappers deforming their bodies w/plastic surgery, or barely there costumes. Maybe tell the students to spend that money on a college degree & have a forever future. Fame is fleeting, those 15 mins are up way to soon.
As far as Rhianna, she didn’t have to alter her body, to me that’s true confidence & empowerment. Neither did Naomi Campbell, & Naomi was right to fight for equal pay if that was the case. These examples are not the same issues as this article about Minaj. Plus minaj could make an appt & leave cameras & MTV out of it if it was so important to her.
@dio
but that didn’t bring her the results she wanted. So she sold out & went for the shock value, which again is her choice.
If you look at the history of rap and R&B, few artists last. Especially females. We all daily have to do things in our jobs that we don’t like but we do it because we (hopefully) love the job or we need the money. How many people hate their job yet still do it every day?
Anaconda is the same song that Sir-Mix-Alot sang but with a female perspective, which was always her thing. How is SMA’s version considered a ‘classic’ and a bop but Nicki’s is trash and vulgar?
Well then, isn’t it a good thing that they do have a female rapper to look up to? To encourage them to work hard to achieve their dreams?
Her body is not ‘disproportionate’ unless all the people who have that body naturally are also deemed ‘disproportionate’. She just has a big butt. Those bodies exist, if you don’t like it because it’s plastic, that’s your opinion but I’ve seen people (white, black, Asian) who have those bodies without surgical interference.
Lol, my point was that Nicki sings like a typically male rapper and she owns her position without excusing herself. You should see some videos then of male performers, lots shirtless even up to the point where they’re almost nude (e.g. LL Cool J, D’Angelo). Or artists like Kravitz and Prince who sell sex. Like bye…
Nicki promotes education, always has.
My point was that some stories about unruly behaviour have been used to put women in their place. But anyway, Rihanna allegedly had a nose job so there’s that. And Naomi has had so many weaves that she’s balding. But I’m not blaming them, they’re in a difficult business.
Dio, don’t mean to sound harsh or anything, but personally I think that no child should look up to any entertainer ever (unless it’s Adele, but she’s in her own category). I mean, it’s you who they should be looking up to, innit? I don’t think Nicki is trying to make anyone “to grotesquely disfigure her derrière to accommodate the current hip hop culture trend of late.” I think she’s just trying to be a successful rapper in a male dominated business. I don’t think she’s going out of her way to inspire teenage girls (she does, on the other hand, encourage higher education). Should she go out of her way? No, relatability is Taylor Swift’s shtick. But ya know, whatever.
I don’t know. There always are two sides of the story and I haven’t heard about Nicki’s alleged outburts, but then again, I don’t know her, nor have worked with her. I honestly believe she cares about education and maybe I’m being too naive.
And who has Nicki shaded? Iggy Azalea? Everyone should shade her. I think she’s a lot more problematic than Nicki is or will be. And Miley shading Nicki? I don’t think Nicki knows who she is.
Artemis, I got the story from a good long-time friend who had projectiles launched at their head and then I have also heard similar stories from other people who worked with her. Yes, sometimes women have people say untrue things about them because they are trying to stall their career. However, sometimes there really ARE people like Nicki who are abusive, degrading, unprofessional and horrible people to work with.
I am completely a feminist, I support women and recognize that we are often held to a different standard than men in business. However, that is NOT what is going on here. Nicki should be held accountable for her own actions, regardless of her gender. She shouldn’t have excuses made for her, simply because of her gender.
If she wants to be taken seriously, perhaps she can avoid all the public celebrity feuding and, maybe, take the focus away from her physical appearance
She created her image, if she doesn’t like it, she has it in her power to change it.
“She’s no saint but never read about her personal values have no business dismissing this woman’s work ethic and achievements. ”
Sorry, but I don’t think using your body to sell music and being a known rapper-hanger onner (Lil Wayne, Drake, Peter Roseburg, Safaree – how convenient) does not equal a good work ethic. It sounds more like she slept her way to the top. One of her first songs was “Jump Off.” Hello!
Artemis, go back a few years & look at her original body, she was gorgeous naturally. Looking at a side by side pic, it’s grossly disproportionate to how she was. That is her choice, but to put those naked parts bent over up in the air, see thru tops where everything is visible, really is that beneficial for young girls to see. Teens always emulate their favorites. I don’t think there is any comparison to wearing a wig or having a nose job. Many people trying to attain the proportions of that size butt have been deformed, disabled & many have died, that’s my point. I have no problem with anyone’s God given shape…. Even KK who started this trend has to have jeans tailored to fit this altered shape, they’ve never made clothes like that! There are many successful rappers & singers who haven’t gone that route, they stand on their talent. There is no job on the planet that is worth putting your health at risk by having to have butt augmentation. Especially as you say, they’re careers tend not to last long…
I had no comment on the lyrics, so I don’t know what you mean…
Just think if someone told the high school kids what a hard hard road it is to become a famous rapper & instead get THE EDUCATION, they can still pursue music if that’s their aspiration…
Are u sure she wasn’t aware? I heard that they let her know no cameras and she refused. IF that is the case, she’s wrong for the whining. But, if that’s not the case, and she really didn’t know…. Then I’m afraid your last sentences are right.
Either way, LGA and MLK high schools are some of the biggest schools in NYC and hard to manage on a normal day w police heavily present. I think from a logistical point and cameras being involved, she really would have created a frenzy. I can see both sides of this, honestly.
but she said she wanted to speak to them to inspire them. the school statement shows she wanted cameras there. if her intentions were selfless, she would have left the cameras at home and spoken to the kids. but no, her desire for self-promotion was greater than her b.s. that she wanted to inspire the kids
they said no to the cameras see nycmom10010 comment
The issue with documenting at schools is that the kids images are going to be used for a narrative! They will be sold! Of course that would need to get vetted and approved by parents ahead of time!
She showed up and wanted to film with MTV. No appointment. As a Lag parent, I think the right decision was made. The proposed visit was to incidentally “inspire” the students. I like her as a performer, my teen not so much. Schedule a visit if you want to speak with the students. What do you want to speak to them about, how long. ? etc The first full week back at school and 9/11 in NYC is not the right time imo.
Does she have a reality show? That’s what it sounded like by the statement from the school.
I totally agree with you – this was just pure PR and she failed at her own stunt.
Right. If it meant so much to her, she could have made an appointment and spoken without the cameras. Honestly, the entitled attitude of famous people is just mind boggling.
Exactly.
She is so fake, I don’t see how anyone can buy her schtick. If it was REALLY all about the children, she would have done the two things you mentioned.
If you NEED cameras around to do a good-deed, then you aren’t really doing a good-deed…you are performing for selfish reasons.
Wait. She just showed-up one day and announced ‘I’m here to inspire the students’? And she brought camera crew? Surely, she or her staff called in advance to schedule and plan a visit.
They let other artists come to the school to film their “homecoming”, why couldn’t she?
Nicki a) wanted to film it for MTV and b) tried to do it on short notice. Apparently the school needs to notify and get permission from parents,which is fair. The school was willing to accommodate her if she did it at another time but she was unwilling or unable to reschedule.
You can’t just film children without their parents permission. Nicki would have needed the parents to sign a release, which is something that you can’t logistically do day-of. On 9/11. if she really wanted to do it, she’d have taken the school up on the reschedule that they offered. It’s a publicity stunt.
I don’t have young girls but I certainly wouldn’t want her speaking at my sons school so that he can think that is an example of a woman to be held up as an inspiration. I find the teachers who work at the school day in and day out for not enough money more inspirational than nicki. I also have no desire to explain the phrase “he toss my salad like his name romaine”
Thank you, thank you, thank you for stating who the real inspirations are…..the teachers. The selfless, underpaid individuals who try to unfold the beautiful minds of our children under often difficult circumstances. We too often forget the real heroes, the real inspirations, the real fighters for our youth…..and I am sorry if I don’t give two hoots about some rap artist or movie star who does a pit stop in a classroom (“Hey, look at me…look at how much I care”). Especially when that celebrity is really using the classroom as a prop for personal gain. This chick could have easily made arrangements quietly and through proper channels to inspire the kids. But, oh no, that would not have given her the publicity she wanted. Maybe she is pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars quietly into the education that she tweets about. But maybe she is also just a bag of wind blowing over the gullible. Whatever. Don’t care. In this case, this time, she was all about herself and anything else is just b.s. Three cheers for the principal for doing what was right for the children.
@ Chocolate Bunny: Maybe the others scheduled and planned these events with the school? It sounds like Minaj may have skipped that part.
Why are there two high schools right across the street from one another?
Never been to a big city, huh?
I heard the reason the principal said “no” is because Nicki wanted a film crew to come a long and film the whole thing. She could have gone without the cameras if she really wanted to speak to the students.
This is just the Nicki Minaj marketing strategy, right? Do something that you know will get you gossip column inches and creating your own controversies? The An aconda cover photo, the VMA wardrobe malfunction, now this – she’s guerilla marketing.
I agree Bridget – I find it difficult to believe that this wasn’t anything but self-serving for additional public interest.
She seems a little desperate for controversy.
If she graduated in 2000, does her age add up??
#ijustwannagossip
I barely even know who she is but it’s a tough call for school administrators. Private schools court wealthy alum for donations but public schools can’t easily accept donations, so making alumni happy isn’t their top priority. Can Nicki Minaj really offer any advice that applies to the vast majority of teens? Anyone can tellkids to “stay in school” but unless the speaker someone who overcame odds the kids can identify with to graduate and do something realistic like attend college, the value is questionable. Pop star & athlete are not real careers that anyone can achieve if they just stay in school.
She’ll probably write a rap song about it.
kudos to her alma matter. as far as rice’s former high school welcoming him.wrong message..even if rice and his wife beat the crap out of each other( which appears they do) who in right mind would welcome them to a public gathering..they will kill each other
Crazy picture of her butt implants not working for that whole “sitting” thing..
http://www.thesuperficial.com/nicki-minaj-fake-butt-09-2014
What kind of entitled bullshit is this?
Yall should give nickiminaj some break , she is already going through difficult time right now . All she wanted was to visit her high school . Omg nicki minaj I hope u feel better soon.
LOL you must be trolling around.
Difficult time? U must be crazy.
She ain’t a role model and she would be the last one I would ever want to take advice from.
Hell no! would I want her to speak at my school. She is no role model for students. There is nothing about her success that screams out, “Educate yourself and go to school!”