Nicki Minaj apologized earlier today (Nov. 11) for the Nazi imagery in her lyric video "Only," a new track from her upcoming The Pink Print release. The director of the video, Jeff Osbourne, did not follow the "Anaconda" singer's lead.
Osbourne started off his Myspace statement by clarifying that his viewpoints did not reflect those of Minaj, Drake, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown or Young Money. Then the juicy stuff comes. "First, I'm not apologizing for my work, nor will I dodge the immediate question. The flags, armbands, and gas mask (and perhaps my use of symmetry?) are all representative of Nazism," he wrote, MTV News notes.
The director also pointed out that symbols like the Lincoln Memorial, M60 and Sidewinder Missile, which all appear in the video, are American. Then he pulled the First Amendment card. "What's also American is the 1st Amendment, which I've unexpectedly succeeded in showing how we willfully squeeze ourselves out of that right every day," he said.
After being called out by the Anti-Defamation League, Minaj took the blame for the video, which she said was inspired by Cartoon Network's Metalocalypse and Sin City.
The artist who made the lyric video for “Only” was influenced by a cartoon on Cartoon Network called "Metalocalypse" & Sin City.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) November 11, 2014
Osbourne chalked the whole thing up to trying to teach younger generations about the atrocities of the past. "And the most effective way of connecting with people today is through social media and pop culture. So if my work is misinterpreted because it's not a sappy tearjerker, sorry I'm not sorry. What else is trending?"
The question is, who's telling the truth? Let us know what you think about the whole incident in the comments section below.
