Take two of the most successful pop sirens on the planet and put them in a heated Twitter spat … as far as PR goes …. absolutely priceless!!
Let’s look at the latest, Twitter frenzy initially instigated by Nicki Minaj.
In a nut-shell, Minaj hasn’t been nominated for MTV’s Video of the Year Award and decides to Tweet about ‘white, skinny girls’ being nominated. Almost immediately, Taylor Swift Tweets back a message saying “I’ve done nothing but love & support you. It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot” …. Then, with the addition of another global diva joining the celebrity circus, i.e. Katy Perry, the media frenzy flies into action.
I found Minaj’s reasons were a little thin on the ground and a HUGE case of sour grapes … because she wasn’t nominated for Video of the Year, she decided to play not only the ‘race card’ but also the ‘skinny card’ …. not a clever move when you consider that 3 out of the 5 nominees are black and one of them being Beyonce ….. hello …. ‘black & full figured’!! On top of this, 45 out of the total 75 nominees are black!!
Let’s face it, the reason Minaj wasn’t nominated is simply that her video just wasn’t good enough. In this business you have to learn to be a gracious loser instead of ranting on and on via Twitter which has just further drawn attention to the fact that she’s been excluded!!
On the other side of the coin, Swift was pulverized by fans for going against the racial argument put forward by Minaj. Also, even though she obviously is ‘white & skinny’, she wasn’t actually named by Minaj and could have been seen by fans as being a little presumptuous that the comment was being aimed at her.
Afterwards, Swift did message an apology to Minaj but, in my opinion, in order to create even more celebrity mayhem, she should have dragged it out a bit more.
From a PR prospective, the subject of the spat is almost irrelevant just so long as it’s mega controversial. At the end of the day, the only lasting effect it can have on an artiste on either side of the argument is to further build their Celebrity Brand.
…. Oh and what a coincidence that following the apology and make-up, there’s talk of the two of them recording a track together …. What a surprise …
Further proof that PR really does pay off whether it be good or bad. In fact, I’ve always advised my clients that unless the subject matter is murder or pedophilia, then practically anything goes!!
