Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion’s Beef Explained – The Mary Sue

Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion have been making headlines due to their public and increasingly ugly feud. As viewers read the eyebrow-raising lyrics of their diss tracks, they’ll wonder what happened between these two rappers who once teamed up for “Hot Girl Summer.”
Feuds are, unfortunately, very common in the female rap industry. There are lots of reasons why this may be the case. In addition to artists having legitimate, irreconcilable problems with each other, the high competition and pressure of performing in a male-dominated industry will inevitably turn some women against each other. A large part of it may also be that diss tracks sell, and the public is always overly eager to consume some exaggerated and overblown beef. Minaj is especially well-known for her long-standing feuds with rappers including Lil Kim and Cardi B.
What’s interesting about the feud between Minaj and Megan is that it’s unclear where things went wrong. As mentioned above, the pair collaborated in 2019 on “Hot Girl Summer” and its music video and frequently praised each other to the press.
The only thing one can pinpoint that might have led to a breakdown in their relationship is when Megan collaborated with Cardi B on “WAP” in 2020. At the time, and to this day, Minaj and Cardi B had one of the most volatile feuds in the industry that even led to a physical altercation and Minaj’s husband being put under house arrest for verbally threatening Cardi B’s husband. So one could see Minaj feeling betrayed by Megan’s collaboration. However, Minaj continued publicly supporting Megan after “WAP,” while Megan insisted nothing in their relationship had changed. Clearly, by 2021, something had changed, as the women stopped following each other on Instagram.
Since then, internet users have speculated that some of Minaj’s songs, like “Seeing Green” and “Red Ruby Da Sleeze” contain jabs at Megan. However, these were just rumors, which is why the explosion of their feud onto the public scene came as a surprise to many.
The feud erupted on January 26, 2024, when Megan released “Hiss,” a diss track referencing and criticizing several artists. She jokingly mentions Kris Jenner and Mariah Carey while subtly throwing shade at Drake, her ex-boyfriend Pardison Fontaine, and Tory Lanez, who was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Megan in the foot. The track also criticizes those who supported Lanez and accused her of lying during the trial. However, listeners are also convinced that “Hiss” takes aim at Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty, with the line, “These h**s don’t be mad at Megan, these h**s mad at Megan’s Law.”
“Megan’s Law” is a federal law that was passed in 1994 and requires information on sex offenders to be available to the public to ensure their safety. It was named after Megan Kanka, who was murdered by her neighbor, whom Kanka’s family had no idea was a sex offender convicted of multiple crimes against children. This relates to Minaj because Petty is a registered sex offender stemming from an assault he committed at age 15. Minaj has adamantly defended her husband due to his age at the time of the crime. Meanwhile, in 2020, Petty was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender when he moved to California, in violation of Megan’s Law.
Although many interpret the line as referencing Minaj and Petty, Megan has not confirmed this. The line likely caused more harm to Kanka’s family than anyone else, as Kanka’s father has threatened legal action for his late daughter’s name and legacy being referenced in a diss track. However, Minaj took the alleged diss to heart—perhaps too much.
Three days after Megan’s “Hiss” released, Minaj dropped her diss track “Big Foot.” The title itself mocks Megan as it references the Lanez shooting incident. While Megan’s song might have subtly referenced Minaj, “Big Foot” is entirely directed at Megan, including mocking the singer over Lanez and even referencing Megan’s mother, who passed away in 2019. Minaj criticizes Megan’s rapping with the opening line, “Your flow is such a bore,” before going on to state, “How you f*** your mother man when she die? / Swearin’ on your dead mother when you lie.”
Addressing “Hiss,” Minaj raps, “This lil’ beggin’ w***e talkin’ ’bout Megan’s Law,” and, referencing the Lanez incident, “Bad b****, she like six foot (Ooh), I call her Big Foot (Brr) / The b**** fell off, I said, ‘Get up on your good foot.’” The rest of the song brings up Megan’s beef with Kelsey Nicole, insinuates Megan lied about the Lanez incident, and continues to mention her late mother repeatedly. It concludes with Minaj claiming she has more tea and a second installment of her diss track coming. Minaj also went on Instagram Live mocking Megan’s “good foot” and attracting thousands of viewers who joined in on the bullying and jeering. Vogue entertainment director Sergio Kletnoy later issued an apology for being one of the thousands of viewers mocking Megan’s assault.
Megan has not publicly responded to Minaj’s diss. However, fans seem to agree that Minaj went too far. Bringing up Megan’s late mother is unnecessarily cruel. Additionally, the mockery of Lanez’s assault on Megan, which was proven in court, is very, very low of Minaj. Hopefully, Megan’s silence marks the end of the feud.
(featured image: Rodin Eckenroth / Getty / Arturo Holmes / Getty)
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Rachel Ulatowski is an SEO writer for The Mary Sue, who frequently covers DC, Marvel, Star Wars, YA literature, celebrity news, and coming-of-age films. She has over two years of experience in the digital media and entertainment industry, and her works can also be found on Screen Rant and Tell-Tale TV. She enjoys running, reading, snarking on YouTube personalities, and working on her future novel when she’s not writing professionally. You can find more of her writing on Twitter at @RachelUlatowski.
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