Nicki Minaj Calls Out 'New York Times Magazine' Reporter Over Sexist Question

American rap queen Nicki Minaj had some choice words for a reporter who she thought stepped out of bounds on a question about "drama." In an exposé published Wednesday in the New York Times Magazine, writer Vanessa Grigoriadis set Minaj off when she leaned into a recent feud between Minaj's label mate Drake, her boyfriend Meek Mills and rappers Lil Wayne and Birdman. Minaj said the question was "disrespectful," that the conflict didn't concern her and that dragging her into the fray was both offensive and sexist.

"Why would a grown-ass woman thrive off drama?'' Minaj responded after Grigoriadis asked her whether she "thrives on drama."

''Why would you even say that?" Minaj said. "That's so peculiar. Four grown-ass men are having issues between themselves, and you're asking me do I thrive off drama?''

The "drama" in question dates back to a mid-summer beef in which the aforementioned rappers exchanged accusations about ghostwriting, a major yet frequent crime in the world of rap. 

In the exposé, Minaj called Grigoriadis "rude" and "a troublemaker.'' Ultimately, Minaj pulled the plug on the interview with a curt ''I don't care to speak to you anymore.''

For Minaj, the line of questioning hit a nerve, not necessarily for the question itself but for the inquirer's gender. In Minaj's eyes, Grigoriadis, as a woman, should have known better than to stir the pot.

"That's the typical thing that women do," Minaj told Grigoriadis during the interview. "What did you putting me down right there do for you? Women blame women for things that have nothing to do with them ... To put down a woman for something that men do, as if they're children and I'm responsible, has nothing to do with you asking stupid questions, because you know that's not just a stupid question. That's a premeditated thing you just did."

Although the question brought the interview to a grinding halt, Grigoriadis makes no allowances for herself or for Minaj's reaction.

"Even though I had no intention of putting [Minaj] down as a small-minded or silly woman, she was right to call me out," writes Grigoriadis. "She had the mic and used it to her advantage, hitting the notes that we want stars like her to address right now, particularly those of misogyny and standing up for yourself, even if it involves standing up for yourself against another woman."