Nicki Minaj Faces Backlash For Nazi Imagery In "Only" Lyric Video
Nicki Minaj has come under fire after releasing a new lyric video for “Only” that appears heavily inspired by Nazi imagery.
Nicki Minaj "Only" Lyric Video
The animated lyric video was directed by Jeff Osborne and features animated dictator Minaj alongside featured artists Drake as the Pope, Chris Brown as a war general and Lil Wayne as a CEO type. The video jumps between characters as the lyrics flash across the screen.
"Only" lyric video
As soon as it was released, “Only” attracted criticism for its usage of Nazi imagery. In the video, dictator Minaj watches on as her mass army stands still in front of her, wearing bright red armbands with the Young Money Entertainment emblem that heavily resembles a swastika.
The imagery angered many fans, with some even calling for Minaj to take the video off YouTube.
hey @NICKIMINAJ thanks for the blatant nazi imagery in your new video! really great allusion to persecution &genocide pic.twitter.com/prjM58hhMQ
— Melissa Morgan (@melissamorgs) November 8, 2014
pretty easy to not use Nazi imagery in your music video where you brag that the world is yours, I did it like 17 times last week alone
— IT'S YA BOY SHRILL (@ShrillCosby) November 8, 2014
@NICKIMINAJ nicki as a person of jewish heritage i am begging you to take down the "only" lyric video as its nazi imagery disturbed many
— LARGE FATHER (@jackwynands) November 8, 2014
.@NICKIMINAJ using nazi imagery for your lyric video is literally disgusting. genocide and bigotry isn't fashionable.
— bucky (reprise) (@onpeakhill) November 8, 2014
ADL Releases Statement Against "Only" Video
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) also released a statement on the video, saying that the group was “deeply disturbed” by the video.
“Nicki Minaj’s new video disturbingly evokes Third Reich propaganda and constitutes a new low for pop culture’s exploitation of Nazi symbolism….This video is insensitive to Holocaust survivors and a trivialization of the history of that era. The abuse of Nazi imagery is deeply disturbing and offensive to Jews and all those who can recall the sacrifices Americans and many others had to make as a result of Hitler’s Nazi juggernaut,” said ADL National Director and Holocaust survivor Abraham H. Foxman in a statement.
Neither Minaj nor Osborne has responded to the backlash, though Osborne has been re-tweeting it on his official Twitter page.
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