Nicki Minaj apologized after causing controversy over her "Only" lyric video, which many perceived the images to be Nazi-related.
The video, made by visual artist and director Jeff Osborne, is an old-fashioned illustrated clip that presents the rapper sitting on the throne as an army-leading dictator.
Minaj is surrounded by subjects and servants who are carrying signs and flags similar to the Nazi symbol. The clip also included singer Chris Brown and rapper Lil Wayne.
"I didn't come up w/ the concept, but I'm very sorry & take full responsibility if it has offended anyone. I'd never condone Nazism in my art," she tweeted on Tuesday. "The artist who made the lyric video for 'Only' was influenced by a cartoon on Cartoon Network called 'Metalocalypse' & Sin City."
"Both the producer, & person in charge of over seeing the lyric video (one of my best friends & videographer: A. Loucas), happen to be Jewish," she added.
The Anti-Defamation League reportedly called the video "deeply disturbing," and said its release was on the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the 1938 night of attacks on Jews across Germany and Austria.
Abraham H. Foxman, the national director for the Anti-Defamation League and a Holocaust survivor, called this imagery "offensive," and said it was "insensitive to Holocaust survivors and a trivialization of that era."
Osborne took to his MySpace page Tuesday to issue his statement regarding the video.
"First, I'm not apologizing for my work, nor will I dodge the immediate question," he wrote.
He also admitted he's inspired by Nazism.
"The flags, armbands, and gas mask (and perhaps my use of symmetry?) are all representative of Nazis. As far as an explanation, I think it's actually important to remind younger generations of atrocities that occurred in the past as a way to prevent them from happening in the future. And the most effective way of connecting with people today is through social media and pop culture. So if my work is misinterpreted because it's not a sappy tearjerker, sorry I'm not sorry. What else is trending?"
Do you accept the rapper's apology?
