When Nicki Minaj rocked up to the Grammys with a fake Pope as her plus one we had a funny feeling that she’d cause stir.
Then we saw her performance of her new song Roman Holiday – which included a Catholic confession, a possession and dancing monks (how fun!) – and we knew that the controversy-loving rapper would really make some people mad.
Step up scary-sounding right-wing religious group the Catholic League, who have spoken out to condemn Nicki via a strongly-worded press release,
“Whether Minaj is possessed is surely an open question,” the League’s president Bill Donohue said, “but what is not in doubt is the irresponsibility of The Recording Academy. Never would they allow an artist to insult Judaism or Islam.
“It's bad enough that Catholics have to fight for their rights vis-a-vis a hostile administration in Washington without also having to fend off attacks in the entertainment industry.”
Yep, they sound pretty angry about the whole thing.
“Never going to be exorcised”
On Monday, Nicki appeared on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show to explain the meaning behind the performance and the male alter-ego character she’d created called Roman Zolanski,
“I had this vision for Roman to be sort of exorcised. People around him tell him he's not good enough because he's not normal and he's not blending in with the Average Joe,” said Nicki.
“The people around him are afraid because they've never seen anything like him. He wanted to show that not only is he amazing, but he's never going to change. He's never going to be exorcised.”
Do you think Nicki’s performance went too far, or do you think she’s just expressing herself artistically?