So Piers Morgan has done it again. If you don't know, Piers Morgan believes it his responsibility, even his duty to make a point of lecturing black people on how they should react to oppression. Whether it be how to conduct their social justice movements, which language to use among themselves, and now how to react to disappointments that arise when you feel you aren't being appreciated due to your skin color.
For those of you who don't pay attention, Nicki Minaj took to twitter to express her frustrations about what she believed to be a snub after she found out she would not be nominated for best video or best choreography at the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards. In her first tweet she claimed that if she made videos featuring slim bodied females she'd be nominated. She also went on to say if she was a "different 'kind' of artist" she'd be recognized at the VMA's (I took this as meaning not only black and thick bodied, but a hip hop artist who constantly tests what is and isn't acceptable for female artists to display in the realm of sexuality). In response Taylor Swift responded "I've done nothing but love and support you. It's not unlike you to pit women against each other," which showed me that not only does TSwift fail understand that you can be the most supportive white person in the world while still benefiting from privilege, but also that it is VERY condescending and wrong for a white woman to use the "we're all women" card to silence a woman of color's response to what she feels is oppression. So lets get to Piers Morgan. He wrote an article titled "Don't Play the Race or Skinny Cards Ms. Minaj - You're Just a Stroppy Piece of Work Who's Video Wasn't As Good As Taylor Swifts," which should already tell you what a sorry excuse for journalism the article was. Morgan did a few things to try and completely delegitimize Nicki Minaj's claims and her opinion as an artist in general. He engaged in name-calling going so far as to call her staff "goons," he called her a liar, First, lets address the idea that the fact that SOME black artists (2 of 5) were nominated erases the possibility that other black artists may have been snubbed to create room for other white, less socially deviant, and/or skinnier artists. The presence of some black recognition doesn't negate the fact that others may have still been snubbed to create spots for artists that don't make Americans uncomfortable. Nicki Minaj is probably the MOST discomforting artist on the market, where as TSwift is easily one of the most privileged celebrities in contemporary pop culture. I mean come on, Taylor Swift is the archetype American princess; she's a skinny beautiful white woman with beach blonde hair, sky blue eyes, a soft demeanor, and makes pop/country music and was victimized publicly by an angry black man. Are you really telling me that she doesn't receive institutional privilege? Even when it comes to how the story is framed she receives privilege; if you google this incident you'll most likely find a headline which claims that Nicki started a beef with innocent little Taylor, omits the fact that Taylor Swift silenced Nicki as a BLACK woman, and probably will have a picture of a scowling Nicki Minaj next to a picture of a smiling Taylor Swift. I think it is completely rational to say that were Nicki Minaj a skinny white girl who makes music and videos that don't challenge societal expectations and standards of sexuality and beauty for women she probably would be more recognized. But if we are talking numbers and using metrics... Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" video has more hits than three of the five nominees, remained atop the billboard top 40 for nearly 3 months, was trending worldwide on twitter for weeks, and earned her a performance at the Grammy's. I can't finish this article before addressing the condescending way in which Piers Morgan not only attacked Nicki Minaj but also "Black Twitter" and the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Piers Morgan starts by recounting an incident where his children asked for a Nicki Minaj autograph and were told by Nicki's staff that she would not be available to sign autographs. He started the article by documenting Nicki Minaj's trouble keeping employment due to her 'discourtesy to customers' and recounts an incident where he met Nicki on the set of America's Got Talent in which she allegedly "scowl[ed]" the whole time and later her staff which he called "goons" notified him that she would not be signing autographs after he tried to get some signatures for his children. I don't think I have to explain how problematic this caricature as Nicki Minaj as the angry black woman with an attitude disorder who is escorted by a squad of "goons" is. And to use it as justification for the snubbing of a major award? Please. He goes on to characterize black twitter as "a very large, vocal and angry social media group of mainly black Americans who collectively leap on any perceived racial insult or bias to expel their indignation," Of course his diction - words like angry, leap, and indignation - are not only inaccurate but also very disgusting and problematic ways to describe a group of "mainly black Americans".
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