“The Barbs are gone”: Nicki Minaj responds to “RuPaul” star Heidi N Closet calling her “MAGA Minaj” with a grammar lesson
Nicki Minaj responded to drag queen Heidi N Closet calling her “MAGA Minaj” with a familiar internet move: correcting grammar instead of addressing the criticism.
The rapper, who showered flattery on President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest over the weekend, appeared unfazed by backlash over her political alignment, taking issue only with Heidi’s use of “then” instead of “than.”
MAGA Minaj holds a grammar lesson
On Monday, RuPaul's Drag Race competitor Heidi N Closet published a post on X calling out Minaj for her hard-right turn into MAGA territory over the last few months. The administration's attacks on the transgender community have impacted drag queens whether they're trans or not, turning many of these performers against the president and his supporters.
"MAGA Minaj," she wrote, "so it was more then just my hair and makeup you hated."
The next day, the rapper replied with a quote-tweet of an asterisk followed by "than" and an image of herself holding a microphone.
Using "then" in place of "than" is a common mistake that leaves an easy opening for a deflection that doesn't address the core point of the post. This kind of flippant response has become common with both Minaj and the Trump administration.
Heidi wasn't done, however. Later on Tuesday, she again targeted Minaj's moral positions in a tweet that didn't name but clearly referenced her.
"The mug and hair was a chop that day I can admit that!!" Heidi wrote. "However something I can say is I never have nor will stand with pedos."
The drag queen is likely bringing up the fact that Minaj's husband and brother both have rape convictions involving underage girls on their records.
"You know you’re chopped when..."
Like clockwork, the Barbz came in to flood Heidi's posts with hate while praising Minaj for her sudden interest in grammar—as though anyone on the internet cares about that anymore.
The rapper's critics, however, focused on the image that she included, accusing her of using AI to touch up her appearance.
X user @realestbunhead declared that "you know you’re chopped when you start AI enhancing pics to use as a comeback."
"She’s actually so funny especially, posting a heavily edited pic too like she’s gagging anybody," said @chanene__.
Others noticed that there actually weren't as many Barbz defending Minaj as usual. Another group seems to be taking their place.
"Her replies being blue check right wing accounts omfggg the barbs are goneee," wrote @Bravebooks.
Regardless, many were unimpressed with the rapper's response.
"Nothing says ‘I lost the argument’ than correcting spelling," said @MissLunaDuBois. "Doubling down yet again… But of course, you don’t have a real response."
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