First observation: Piers Morgan is not a very good writer.
Second observation: Piers Morgan, *clapback emoji* TAKE. *clapback emoji* A. *clapback emoji* SEAT.
Today, the British broadcaster and journalist penned a Daily Mail op-ed about last night's Twitter beef between Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift. Quick recap: After the VMA nominations were made, Nicki took to Twitter to call out her "Anaconda" snub in the Video of the Year category, stating that if she was a different "kind" of artist (read: white), she would have gotten the recognition. Or, you know, if it had celebrated slim body types. Of course, Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" video comes to mind, but Minaj's comments were not shots thrown at T. Swift, but rather at the industry. Taylor took it personally, though, and involved herself in something not concerning her, while setting up Nicki's comments as some sort of anti-feminist agenda:
@NICKIMINAJ 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..
Nicki responded swiftly (no pun intended), clarifying that this is a bigger issue beyond just Taylor or "Bad Blood" or her supermodel entourage.
Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn't say a word about u. I love u just as much. But u should speak on this. @taylorswift13
Nicki's right. It seems odd that a video as big as "Anaconda"—literally record-breaking on VEVO—was only nominated for smaller categories, like Best Female Video and Best Hip-Hop Video.
In the middle of this drama, a white man by the name of Piers Morgan decided it was his place to jump into the conversation, coming through with a patronizing piece titled, "Don't play the race or skinny cards, Ms Minaj - you're just a stroppy little piece of work whose video wasn't as good as Taylor Swift's" (GONNA SAVE YOU A CLICK BY NOT LINKING). Morgan starts the piece off with the below paragraph, which is not only poorly written, but fails to make any points.
Wow, isn't it so cool when a trash white male talks down a black woman? Also, I think I can say for sure that whenever a white person has started off a tweet with "Warning to Black Twitter," it has never yielded good results.
Warning to Black Twitter: I don’t think you’re going to like my column about @NICKIMINAJ.
In the piece, Morgan not only calls the rapper "stroppy" (cool word choice, bro), but also a "whiny brat that just doesn't like losing." He calls her argument "a load of old hogwash," which would be cute if it wasn't so rude. He's extremely condescending throughout the piece, probably so blinded by his own whiteness that he's unable to see that race is still a huge issue in the entertainment industry. (Hey, remember Macklemore at the Grammys? Or perhaps other white artists who got nods despite their racy videos? Ehem, Miley? Robin?) He states, "There's no doubt that in the past, the music industry was, like Hollywood, rife with racism, both overt and covert." Sorry to break it to you, Piers: It's not just a thing of the past. It's still happening. Open your eyes.
Morgan targets not only Nicki, but all of Black Twitter, for siding with Ms. Minaj, and—oh my god Piers, STOP MAKING THIS ABOUT YOU—for criticizing the British journalist the other day after his idiotic #ALLLivesMatter hashtag.
Below, see more of Piers' hogwash article (which is low-key funny when you look at it as a satire piece about white-mansplaining). Make sure to note the part where he clarifies he does not prefer skinny women over voluptuous ones:
White men in positions of power talking down women of color only sets back the conversation, when they should be doing their part to enable them instead. Piers, your opinion is totally legitimate if you think "Bad Blood" is a better video than "Anaconda," but to say that industry racism is a non-issue, and to say that Nicki Minaj is using race or body image cards out of turn, is wrong. And to say "Shame on you, Ms Minaj" for speaking out about an uncomfortable truth is oppressive. Love or hate the video, the VMAs should have acknowledged Nicki Minaj as a monumental part of the cultural conversation. To snub her is the kind of covert racism that Piers Morgan thinks is of the past. It's not. So stop trying to inhibit POC voices.
