We're sad to report two of the music's best are fighting. Overnight, SZA and Nicki Minaj went at it on X, with the Pink Friday singer originally calling out a rapper named Punch, who is also signed to SZA's Top Dawg Entertainment label.
If you're confused as to what on Earth is going on, we have everything you need here, along with a timeline of the pair's relationship until now...
Why are SZA and Nicki Minaj feuding?
Minaj claimed Punch had been 'bullying me on Twitter for no reason', originally tweeting, 'So glad I have proof of being bullied by AND being lied on by a man PUBLICLY on a platform I use for my JOB; after I rejected his business proposition on more than one occasion.'
SZA then tweeted the cryptic message, 'Mercury retrograde.. don't take the bait lol silly goose.' The message was then taken as a dig by Minanj who escalated the situation further.
Minaj then went on insult SZA's appearance, saying 'Go draw your freckles back on bookie #JusticeForDemoree #DepositionPerez Liar liar pants on fire. Sounding like a fkng dead dog.' The hashtags reference Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, whom she’s also been involved in a social media fight with, and her daughter Demoree Hadley, who accused her mother of wrongfully admitting her to a mental health facility.
SZA replied to her in the comments, saying 'I don’t give a f–k bout none of that weird shit you popping.'
Minaj then tweeted, 'B---h looking & sounding like she got stung by a f--king bee' and 'Dot dot dot *Draws on my fake freckles.*'
While Minaj kept going, SZA had a positive response to it all replying to a fan's concern that Minaj's fanbase would now come for her with, 'I get bullied by millions online every day then step my ass out onna packed stadium tour where ppl show me REAL love . IN REAL LIFE. My parents are healthy and I’m the most successful I ever been . GET SOME F--KING PERSPECTIVE n BARK AT THE WALL !!!'
What was Nicki Minaj and SZA's relationship before this?
The pair haven't really had much public interaction before this spat. SZA has a co-writing credit on Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé's hit 'Feeling Myself' in 2014.
In 2018, Minaj and Cardi B were embroiled in rumours of a feud (a consistent thread with Minaj it seems) and SZA was asked about this by TMZ. She replied, 'You consider that a feud or is that like outside influence and opinion?... I mean, I see two women like doing their best and championing themselves, I don't really see any ill words being spread on either side.'
In 2023, Minaj's highly anticipated album Pink Friday 2 dropped and the track 'Needle' featured a voicenote cameo from SZA where she said, 'I mean, I don’t know if I like girls, I saw Sheila at Seraphin. Maybe we had too much tequila. Actually, yeah, we definitely had too much tequila ’cause I don’t know why I’m even playin’ on your phone right now. I’ma just block you, bye.'
Ruchira Sharma is Acting Senior Editor at Grazia, where she writes and edits features for print and digital. From online dating culture, to cryptocurrency and online conspiracy theories, she's most interested by how online life shapes society, and co-hosts the pop culture podcast Everything Is Content.