Nelson and Minaj have just collaborated on a brand new single which marks the singer’s first solo track since departing Little Mix.
Nicki Minaj is facing a backlash today after she participated in an Instagram Live with Jesy Nelson to address the singer’s “blackfishing” allegations. Nelson and Minaj have just collaborated on a brand new single “Bad Boyz” which marks the U.K. singer’s first solo song since departing the girl group Little Mix. The group are huge in the United Kingdom and have been one of the country’s biggest girl bands of the last decade. Nelson famously left last year after releasing a documentary about the years of cyberbullying she suffered from the public while in a girl band. However, the 30-year-old has l ong faced accusations of blackfishing —when a non-black person tries to appear Black or racially ambiguous—and her new video has seen those issues with excessive tanning and cultural appropriation brought to a whole new audience. Nelson’s former bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock, who is Black, has now been dragged into the situation after Minaj used the Instagram Live to lash out at Pinnock’s criticism of Nelson. During the Live, Nelson said never intended to cause offense and was intending to celebrate R&B and hip hop. In her new video, she is heavily tanned and her hair is styled with wigs and braids, while some of her outfits include basketball shorts and gold teeth.
