The last few days have been a whirlwind for Nicki Minaj as she's battled it out with fans, artists, and music industry professionals. The Queen rapper has dedicated her week to defending her name and work ethic, but her most talked about exchange happened with rapper and podcast host, Joe Budden.
The pair first squared off on her Queen Radio station and later went toe-to-toe for Budden's podcast. One of the many accusations that Nicki made against Budden was that he tears down women at times when they are unable to defend themselves, and in an interview with Variety, Budden flatly denies that claim.
"That’s such a false narrative, I don’t understand where comes from and it shouldn’t be created," he said. "I was raised by a single mom. I was raised to believe — and I still believe — that women are the greatest creatures on this f–ing earth. The greatest. I don’t understand where that comes from."
He added that he didn't take the time to defend himself against the accusation because "there's nothing to defend. I wouldn’t even dignify it. What conversation are we having? It has to be with someone who isn’t familiar with me...I’m not really perception-based. I’m black and white. If it’s true, great. If not, y'all have a blast with it as long as it’s not altering anything. That couldn’t be further from the truth."
Things between Nicki and Budden got heated and voices were raised, but he claims that getting the "Megatron" rapper upset "wasn't the goal." In the end, he didn't really believe that Nicki was as angry as she came across. "Entertainers have to convey certain things to their audience," he said. "For Nick, that meant berating me. I think that was really important for her, so get it off! Cook. I’m numb, it’s not going to bother me. It’s not gonna affect me. What people say online isn’t going to bother me. I know you don’t feel like that. I know you’re leaving here to come do my podcast — it’s theatrics at the end of the day. I don’t pay that no mind."