Nicki Minaj is not here to play games. She has made it clear time and time again that she’s a bona fide business woman who has little to no tolerance for disrespect.
It makes sense then that the rapper is calling out designer Giuseppe Zanotti for allegedly naming a pair of sneakers after her without acknowledging or paying her.
Through a series of tweets she explains that although Zanotti has admitted to being inspired by her during a brief meeting of theirs, her team hasn’t been able to get in touch with the brand concerning several pairs of shoes that have been named after her.
Taking the company to task on Twitter, the rapper called the behavior racist and disrespectful.
This is wonderful. #GiuseppeZanotti seems to think it's ok to name his sneakers after me but his PR says they won't take our call. Lol.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) February 3, 2017
I met #GiuseppeZanotti years ago. At which time, he told me I inspired him to design a sneaker in my honor. Wore them on the cover of Cosmo
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) February 3, 2017
Recently when he gave other artists capsule collections, my agency reached out and was told they're not taking our call. 🤔
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) February 3, 2017
Just go on google, you'll see all the different pairs he's named after me. Lil black girl can inspire u but ain't worth a collection my nig?
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) February 3, 2017
#RunMeMyCHECK #GiuseppeWhatsGood I got time today. 😊 barbz trend this cuz he gon learn today. The racism & disrespect won't b tolerated.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) February 3, 2017
Don't care about the money. It's just the disrespect. You're not taking MY call? Lol. Give some money to charity in my name or smthn. 🙏🏽
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) February 3, 2017
In response to Nicki’s complaints, Twitter user Tom Ford came through with the receipts:
In total there are 23 different shoes named after her #RunMeMyCHECK #GiuseppeWhatsGood pic.twitter.com/jIw94bAXi0
— Tom Ford (@ThatShadyCunt) February 3, 2017
And just in case you were wondering. Nicki’s “Barbz” did indeed get #GiuseppeWhatsGood trending.
And yasss.. it's trending WORLDWIDE 😭😂🔥 #GiuseppeWhatsGood pic.twitter.com/OaFy1GVPR0
— andy (@ReazMinaj) February 3, 2017
It looks like the folks over at Guiseppe Zanotti have some explaining to do — someone might want to go ahead and answer the phone.