Nicki Minaj is catching flak from The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and many others online for posting an Instagram video perceived to be making fun of a woman with mental illness in South Beach, Florida.
The video features Nicki filming a woman from the window of a car while the woman shouts briefly and unintelligibly. Minaj can be heard laughing and goading the woman.
When the woman walks away and turns back to shout “Go away!” at Nicki, the rapper laughs hard and and asks “What did I do?”
As the woman continues to walk away, Nicki says “Miss! You look nice, can we talk?” before being distracted by a man who stops to tell her he’s a big fan.
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The video has provoked a lot of backlash online with many accusing Minaj of making fun of a mentally ill or incapacitated woman.
A representative for NAMI has also given Minaj a dressing down, saying: “Nobody would make fun of a cancer patient, and mental illness is an illness like any other,” according to TMZ.
The video has been viewed 1.9 million times since it was uploaded, and has amassed 255,000 likes.
2016 has seen many rappers come under fire for their attitudes toward mental illness. While the community was largely supportive of Kid Cudi when he entered rehab for suicidal impulses, Drake dissed him on “Two Birds, One Stone” and caught some heat for it. 50 Cent also issued an apology to an autistic airport worker after posting a video to Instagram accusing the man of being “high as a muthafucka.”
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Minaj has yet to respond to the backlash.
