What happened between Nicki Minaj and Demi Lovato? 2016 Met Gala incident explored

Currently traveling for the Pink Friday 2 world tour, Nicki Minaj has completed five albums and four headlining tours. Minaj has been making music since 2007, having established herself as one of the wealthiest and most successful rappers in the world. Along the way, she has also been involved in feuds with other artists in the industry.

In 2016, Minaj and Demi Lovato wore outfits designed by Jeremy Scott. Following the event, Minaj posted a picture of herself with Scott, in which Lovato was also present but not tagged. This elicited a reaction on the singer's part, leading her to talk about it on multiple social media platforms.

After the singer talked about it in a 2018 interview, rumors claimed that it could've been Nicki Minaj because of whom Demi had to leave the event early.

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Demi Lovato seemed upset over Nicki Minaj not tagging her in the 2016 Met Gala picture

In the 2016 Met Gala event, Demi Lovato appeared on the red carpet in a fold and silver sequined Moschino gown designed by Jeremy Scott.

Nicki Minaj was also dressed by Scott for the event and appeared in a sheer black dress accentuated by rhinestoned buckles. The designer also accompanied the Swalla rapper as her date for the evening.

Following the event, Nicki Minaj posted a picture from the red carpet of herself, Scott, and Lovato, who was captured posing awkwardly in it. To make matters worse, while the 41-year-old tagged Jeremy in her post, Lovato didn't receive a mention.

The absence of her tag was immediately noticed by Demi, who still commented on it with a laughing emoji, a peace sign, and a thumbs up. Thereafter, the Skyscraper singer shared the same photo herself, captioning it:

"This picture pretty much summed up my first and probably last met #cool #sof—ingawkward #notforme #sweatpants #forensicfiles #whatsgood."

The rest of the caption read:

"p.s. some of y'all need to learn how to take a joke.. I'm obviously laughing at the fact that 1. I look incredibly awkward and 2. That the shade being thrown in this picture actually gives me life."

Besides Instagram, Lovato also talked about the no-mention on her Snapchat handle. She clicked a selfie of herself in deep thought in a distorted filter, captioning it;

"When you aren't mentioned in a post but didn't do s**t to the other person."

Nicki Minaj, who is generally too eager to respond to such subtle hits from other artists, remained decidedly quiet in the face of Demi's comments.

Two years later, when the Don't Forget singer brought up the Met Gala incident again in an interview, readers instantly connected it to Minaj. Talking about her 2016 Met Gala experience in a Billboard feature published on March 8, 2018, Lovato called it a "terrible experience," adding:

"This one celebrity was a complete b***h and was miserable to be around. It was very cliquey. I remember being so uncomfortable that I wanted to drink."

The Stone Cold singer then reached out to her manager, who arranged for her to join a nearby AA meeting at 10 PM. She continued:

"I changed my clothes, but I still had my diamonds on — millions of dollars of diamonds on in an AA meeting. And I related more to the homeless people in that meeting who struggled with the same struggles that I deal with than the people at the Met Gala — fake and sucking the fashion industry’s d***."

The reference to the "celebrity b***h" Demi mentioned in her interview was linked to Minaj, who still had nothing to say to that insinuation. With no comments from the rapper, the rumors eventually died down.

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Nicki Minaj appeared as a floral sculpture at the 2024 Met Gala

The dressing theme of the 2024 Met Gala - held on May 6 - was "garden of time," Minaj walked the red carpet adhering to it, transforming herself into a floral sculpture. Her yellow minidress resembled an oil painting adorned with 3D multi-colored flowers. Her short hair was held together in an arched bubble ponytail and blunt bangs framed her face.

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The avant-garde ensemble was designed by Francesco Risso, the creative director of Marni, who also accompanied Minaj as her date for the event.