Nicki Minaj Fires Back At Stephen A. Smith Over JAY-Z Super Bowl Rant Criticism

Nicki Minaj has some words for Stephen A. Smith after the famed sports commentator criticized her recent rant about JAY-Z.

As previously reported, Nicki unleashed some major vitriol on Hov earlier this week after it was announced Kendrick Lamar would be headlining the 2025 Super Bowl half time show in New Orleans – and not NOLA native Lil Wayne.

Smith was none too impressed with her criticisms, which included calling Jay a sellout and egotistical, and let her know on the latest episode of his eponymous show Thursday (September 12).

“Come on Nicki. I respect you, I respect your work, I respect what you’ve accomplished,” he began. “Who else you gon’ get in a beef with? Lil Kim, Mariah Carey, Cardi B, Gucci Mane, Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato. Every time we turn around it’s something, Nicki. You disagree with the decision, you disagree with the decision. You got to talk about the brother like that?”

Retweeting the clip of the segment, Minaj unleashed some vitriol for Stephen too.

“Oh look yall another paid laughy taffy alien who only comes off his knees to turn around & back dat azz up,” she wrote. “LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Stephen, we don’t care. Ima tell u right now. We don’t care. If I say more it’ll be your fault. Sit down ugly.”

During her initial rant against JAY-Z, Nicki Minaj said: “I love watching the whole industry play dumb time after time. Go & enjoy your fkng money b4 it’s too late.”

In a direct reference to criticism that JAY and Roc Nation took when they began their partnership with the NFL — that they were undermining the struggle for racial justice in the league that burst into public consciousness with Colin Kaepernick — she wrote: “One n-gga took a knee. The other n-gga took the bag. He gon get you ‘n-ggers’ in line every fkng time.”

She continued taking shots, saying that JAY was in business with “the Politicians and the police”: “Got everything in the world. Still spiteful & evil,” she wrote. “Disgusting.”

She then directly addressed what she viewed as the root of the issue: that what she called JAY’s “hatred” of her, Drake, and Birdman led to him denying Wayne a showcase he deserved.

“Denying a young black man what he rightfully put into this game for no other reason but your ego,” she wrote. “Your hatred for BIRDMAN, Drake & Nicki got you punishing Lil Wayne?!?!!!”

Nicki was not the only Hip Hop figure to feel like Wayne was snubbed. Cam’ron felt the same way.

The Harlem native then pointed the finger at his former Roc-A-Fella boss, who has helped organize the Super Bowl since 2020 as the NFL’s live music entertainment strategist.

“It’s one person who’s stopping this. It’s not really a secret,” he continued, albeit without naming names. “Lil Wayne had a problem with somebody before who’s kinda part of the organization running it. This is payback. Who’s Lil Wayne’s artist? Drake. This is crazy, bro. It’s ridiculous.”