What happened with Nicki Minaj and Jesy Nelson? Rapper defended Little Mix member against allegations of blackfishing

In October 2021, Nicki Minaj rapped in Jesy Nelson's track called Boyz, which was the latter's debut single as a solo artist. Nelson quit the UK girl band Little Mix in 2020 and moved on in her career as an R&B pop singer.

In the music video for Boyz, Nelson appeared to be spray-tanned with fuller lips and had a "Blaccent" when she sang the following lyrics,

"So hood, so good, so damn taboo"

Following the song's release on October 8, 2021, Jesy Nelson received "blackfishing" allegations online. These were further fueled by a leaked, unverified, DM allegedly sent by her ex-bandmate, Leigh-Anne Pinnock.

In the DM's screenshot, Pinnock suggested NoHun, a UK influencer and comedian, to make a video about Nelson "being a black fish" and called her a "horrible" person for blocking the band members on social media.

Nicki Minaj, who had recently worked with Jesy, was quick to come to her rescue in a joint Instagram Live session on October 11, 2021, where she called out her former bandmates and their allegations.

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Nicki Minaj called out Nelson's bandmates for trying to "ruin" her

In an Instagram Live session that lasted about an hour, Nicki Minaj called Jesy Nelson's former band-mates out for not talking about "blackfishing" when the singer was still a band member, adding:

“Don’t try to come out and ruin anyone. Let her enjoy this time. If you was in this woman’s group and you ain’t talking about this sh*t for 10 years, and as soon as you see she got a video come out with Nicki Minaj and Puffy, now you sending the stations text messages and all this sh*t..."

The Super Freaky Girl rapper continued:

"And stop trying to hurt people and kill people’s lives and careers. If you want a solo career, baby girl, just say that."

The following day, Nicki Minaj also tweeted on X (formerly Twitter) about Leigh-Anne Pinnock and the other members from Little Mix calling out Nelson as a "personal vendetta," after having made millions working alongside her for a decade.

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Jesy Nelson opened up about facing "blackfishing" comments after leaving Little Mix

The same month that Nelson's debut track as a solo artist was released, Nelson was interviewed by Vulture in October 2021, where she was asked about the "blackfishing" allegations against her. To it, Jesy responded:

"The whole time I was in Little Mix I never got any of that. And then I came out of [the band] and people all of a sudden were saying it. I wasn’t on social media around that time, so I let my team [deal with it], because that was when I’d just left."

Nelson continued:

"But I mean, like, I love Black culture. I love Black music. That’s all I know; it’s what I grew up on. I’m very aware that I’m a white British woman; I’ve never said that I wasn’t."

When further asked in the interview whether she had changed anything about the way she dressed or acted since leaving the band, the Boyz singer answered that she hadn't, stating that she'd gone back to 'being who she was' since leaving the girl group, further adding:

"Like I said, I don’t ever want to be an artist who’s being told what to wear or what music to make. I want to be authentic and true to myself, and if people don’t like that, don’t be my fan."

Jesy's answer appeared to be hinting at the singer feeling restrictive in expressing her "authentic self" while in Little Mix.

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In recent news, Jesy Nelson collaborated with Zion Foster on the single Mine, released on August 2, whereas Nicki Minaj will release her deluxe album Pink Friday 2: Gag City Reloaded on September 13, 2024.