Nicki Minaj and Jennifer Lopez have been rumored to be feuding since a "shady" incident at the 2015 American Music Awards. Both also had some tension with their fellow American Idol judge, Mariah Carey.
Here's the truth about the Super Freaky Girl rapper and the Marry Me star's relationship
Nicki Minaj & Jennifer Lopez Were Judges On 'American Idol'
Minaj and Lopez both served as judges in American Idol before. In 2012, the former sparked feuding rumors when she performed Starships on the Idol stage. At that time, she'd already left her spot on the judging panel.
"I was hoping maybe I could come back and be a guest judge," she joked after her performance, adding, "J-Lo, can you scoot over a little bit?" The Let's Get Loud hitmaker politely replied, saying: "I don't know if there's enough room for both of us."
Backstage, the Anaconda performer clarified that she wasn't throwing shade at Lopez. "She didn't seem to be having it but she gonna have it!" she told The Hollywood Reporter.
"No, actually, I love J-Lo. I love what she's done for pop culture I have nothing but respect for her and we were just joking around. I'm sure I'll have lots of fun with them when I'm guest judging." If anything, the two must have been allies as Carey hasn't been so friendly with both of them.
In 2016, when Andy Cohen asked the five-time Grammy winner about her infamous "I don't know her" comment on Lopez, she said:
"It's not like I don't know who she is—of course I do," adding that she could be forgetful at times. "You know what? I’m very forgetful. Apparently I'm very forgetful…If I had never had a conversation with you and someone asked me about you, I'd be like, 'I don't know him, but he seems cool,' or, 'I don't know him.'"
When asked if she thought J.Lo "[seems] cool," Carey paused then blurted, "I don't know her!" Cohen then asked if she could say three nice things about Minaj. She responded by asking the host, "Can you?" Carey notably clashed with the rapper over their opinions on Idol. Though the former said the beef was orchestrated by the producers, it was all real for Minaj. At the time, she was caught yelling expletives at Mariah in a viral video: "I'm not putting up with her highness over there."
Nicki Minaj Might Have Shaded Jennifer Lopez At The 2015 AMAs
In 2015, Lopez hosted the AMAs and started the show with a medley of pop hits including Minaj's Anaconda. As the former danced to the song, the cameras panned to the wild audience and caught the latter looking unamused.
Fans were quick to accuse the Super Bass performer of throwing shade at J.Lo. "Nicki Minaj was nottttt impressed with JLO lol #AMAs," one tweeted.
Another said: "#AMAs Nicki Minaj was jealous; 'look at her butt' was supposed to be about her, not JLo." But after the show, Minaj slammed the rumors and explained the real reason she looked unimpressed in the clip. "lol says what all? I'm looking at my own face on the screen when I'm looking to the right. I turn back & look @ her," she tweeted at the time.
In 2014, Minaj did a live performance of Anaconda at the MTV VMAs. Everyone in the audience was grooving with her including Carmen Electra. However, Lopez was caught sitting with her arms closed. Fans thought it was shady, especially since the choreographer of Anaconda's music video was J.Lo's young ex-boyfriend, Casper Smart.
Nicki Minaj & Jennifer Lopez's Relationship Now?
In April 2022, Lopez shared a video on Instagram where she was seen jamming to Minaj and Coi Leroy's song, Blick Blick while showing off her green engagement ring from her now-husband, Ben Affleck. "Green lollipop kisses," she wrote in the caption.
Fans thought the video might be a sign that Lopez and Minaj are on good terms nowadays. "We want @JLo and @NICKIMINAJ to collaborate. It's long overdue!!!" a fan tweeted. Another even said that it "Ended Mariah." ð
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