“It’s the Carters right” — Internet slams Billboard for writing controversial information about artists in Greatest Pop Stars of 21st Century articles

Billboard faced criticism for highlighting controversial moments in the careers of artists featured on their Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century ranking. On November 26, they shared a video on Instagram celebrating Taylor Swift's No. 2 spot, which included a controversial fake naked clip from Kanye West’s 2016 track Famous.

When Nicki Minaj ranked No. 13, Billboard mentioned her past controversies, including her views on the COVID-19 vaccine and various feuds. Lady Gaga’s fifth-place article referenced her 2013 collaboration with R. Kelly, and Rihanna’s third-place article brought up the abuse she endured from Chris Brown.

Social media users were not too pleased with the content of the articles featuring their favorite artists and alleged that Beyoncé, who took the No.1 spot on the list, and her husband Jay-Z were behind this.

One X user who went by @rhmtmk, speculated:

"It’s the Carters right"

Netizens blamed Beyonce for the content of Billboard's list (Image via X/@thegodlore)

Similar reactions followed as social media users labeled Billboard, "weird". Many were in agreement that the whole thing was quite "shady". Here are a few X reactions to the controversy:

"oh billboard movin weird…..", noted one X user.

"This whole business is shady like WHO is working for them???", asked a second user.

"The way that Billboard is so misogynistic and doesn’t hide the hate they have for women speaks volumes," thought a third user.

A slew of netizens shifted the backlash from the articles onto Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Some noted that the latter had the publication in his pockets.

"I mean that h*g Jay -Z has them in pockets so of course they’ll belittle everyone who is a threat to Beyoncé. Just disgusting AF", thought one Netizen.

"Jay z got everything under control", added a second netizen.

"If they don’t mention P Diddy and Thank you Beyoncé you all know she paid for it. The fact that this list started when she was getting cancelled, looks like the list has been planned to save her image", speculated another user.

"And they won’t mention her and her husband being close to diddy #BillboardIsOverParty", added yet another user.

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Billboard issued an apology to Taylor Swift

As mentioned earlier, Billboard's Instagram video from Tuesday, commemorating Taylor Swift as their second-best pop star of the 21st century showcased various iconic moments from the singer's career. However, it also included a clip of a fake naked Taylor Swift wax figure from the music video for Kanye West's Famous, a track that also included disses aimed at Swift.

After a barrage of online backlash, the publication took down the video and issued an apology on social media. The publication stated:

"We are deeply sorry to Taylor Swift and all of our readers and viewers that in a video celebrating Swift’s achievements, we included a clip that falsely depicted her. We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error."

When Nicki Minaj bagged the 13th position back in October, the rapper's article also included a few controversial moments. The article dived into the beef between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion and called Minaj's 2024 track Big Foot "a poorly received response" to Stallion's Hiss.

The publication added:

"In “Hiss,” Megan rapped, “These h**s don’t be mad at Megan, these h**s mad at Megan’s Law,” a bar many perceived to be a shot at Minaj, whose husband, Kenneth Petty, is a registered s*x offender."

Furthermore, the article also touched upon Minaj's alleged "puzzling dissemination of vaccine conspiracy theories" and association with producer, Dr. Luke, who faced multiple s*xual assault allegations, two of which were settled out of court.

When Lady Gaga was ranked in fifth position on the aforementioned list on November 5, Billboard's article on the Poker Face hitmaker discussed the underperformance of her 2013 studio album Artpop. The publication zeroed in on one particular collaboration from the album, noting:

"Worst of all, second single “Do What U Want” co-starred R. Kelly as Gaga’s duet partner — released years prior to the R&B star’s conviction on s*x trafficking and racketeering charges, but around the time that allegations had begun to resurface."

Billboard noted that Lady Gaga removed her collaboration with R. Kelly from streaming services after his 2019 arrest, calling it a "moral stain wiped away from a misfire." When Rihanna ranked third, the publication briefly mentioned the 2009 assault by Chris Brown, who was later charged with assault and criminal threats.