By now everyone has heard about the "feud" between country-turned-pop superstar Taylor Swift and rap/hip-hop phenom, Nicki Minaj. In case you missed it: Nicki took to Twitter to talk about not being nominated for the MTV Video of the Year at the VMAs, reiterating the racism in the media that is all too ignored:
And she's right. Think about Miley Cyrus's video for "Wrecking Ball," which is also considered provocative. "Anaconda" surpassed "Wrecking Ball" for first-day views on Vevo, and Miley still won Video of the Year at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. Even "Blurred Lines," a possibly more sexualized but definitely more controversial song and video, has been acknowledged, being nominated for Video of the Year in 2013. So why didn't Nicki get nominated for a video and song that reached EVERYONE? Because the media disregards the talents of black female artists but doesn't want to come out and blatantly say it.
Anyway, Tay Tay responded to Nicki in what is slowly becoming "The Tweet Heard 'Round The World." The issue: Taylor completely missed the point of Nicki's tweet. But they made up, and Taylor apologized to Nicki, gracefully stating she missed the point, and Nicki responded with hearts and love, mending this "broken friendship" of sorts.
Another issue: There never really was a feud, yet popular social media outlets like Facebook and BuzzFeed are calling it "a Twitter spat" and "War of the Worlds." Multiple news outlets are stating the exchange was a fight, even with Nicki saying "there is really no fight to be had between us." So instead of addressing the real problem of black females not being honored as much for their contribution to music, mainstream media is focusing on a non-fight and ignoring the problem.
This could have been a huge learning experience for everyone. Many news outlets could've used the experience to highlight just Nicki's tweets and accomplishments, and address the issues of racism and sexism in the media. The exchange was the perfect opportunity to touch on how important intersectional feminism is, and maybe even the right opportunity to bring this to the forefront of people's minds. The real reason Nicki tweeted in the first place--the unfair treatment of black female celebrities--has been brushed under the carpet for a less controversial and more engaging news story. By ignoring the true issue, the media is only furthering its growth. By turning the exchange into a full-on fight, the media is saying that it's pretty much okay for Hollywood to continue on its racist and sexist path, as long as they get a good story out of it. There's no effort to even bring this issue (caused by the media) to the attention of the public. It's hidden, veiled by the story of two girls (who actually respect each other) fighting it out on social media.
The media has, and always will, focused on the drama rather than the issues. A simple misunderstanding was blown up into huge fight, and again and again black female celebrities get the short end of the stick. At this point, who knows what it will take for this problem to actually be addressed in Hollywood, or for the mainstream media to report on the real issues instead of some made-up fight. Unless the media starts changing its tune once issues like this arise--unless the media actually starts to support those who feel alienated and victimized instead of exploiting them for a story, no one is going to know or care about the real issues.
