Nicki Minaj. Credits: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Singer, actress, and Disney Channel star Zendaya was honored by Mattel with her very own Barbie doll, and it seems that Nicki Minaj had something to say about it. The 32-year-old rapper, who was given her own Barbie back in December 2011, is getting criticized for subtly throwing some shade at the young artist on Instagram.

Nicki Minaj initially congratulated Zendaya, but then posted a photograph of her own pink-haired doll in a Cinderella gown. In the caption, Minaj wrote, “Did you know Barbie made me one a cpl years back? It was such an honor & a HUGE surprise. Anyway, I love your doll’s hair! I love what it means for other little girls who will identify with it & be empowered. [sic]” While it may sound like Minaj was praising Zendaya’s doll, many of the comments took issue with the fact that Minaj simply used it as a means to push her own Barbie.

The “Anaconda” singer was referring to the Barbie that immortalized Zendaya, 19, with the famous dreadlocks she rocked at the Academy Awards earlier this year in February, along with her mocha-colored skin. Minaj’s post managed to receive over 5,000 comments, many of which slammed her for being insensitive. As one commenter wrote, “#goodadvertising but you just don’t do it on someone else’s behalf whether she’s being shady or not… it’s called etiquette.”

Minaj clearly didn’t get the message, because she went on to post another picture soon after, where she positioned her own Barbie and Zendaya’s side-by-side and captioned it, “They should have matching bff Barbie cars with the dreamhouse to match. Love this.” Again, this post attracted the same type of comments—one comment on this second post even compared Minaj to the infamous moment at the MTV Video Music Awards where Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech in favor of Beyoncé.

However, whether or not Minaj had any ill intentions with her posts, Zendaya seemed to take the high road and not only brushed off the first post, but actually retweeted Minaj’s second photo on her own Twitter account.

Sources:
Nicki Minaj, Instagram post, September 27, 2015.
Nicki Minaj, Instagram post, September 27, 2015.
Zendaya, Twitter page, accessed September 28, 2015.