Just because she claimed that TMZ‘s initial report about her Rosa Parks lyric wasn’t true doesn’t mean the outlet was finished talking about it. Following the social media backlash over Nicki’s “All you b*tches Rosa Parks, uh-oh, get your ass up” lyric from the snippet of her unreleased track “Yikes,” TMZ wrote that Nicki was aware of how upset people were. They reported that they spoke with sources close to Nicki who stated the rapper never intended for the lyric to be disrespectful, especially on Parks’ birthday (February 4).
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Later, Nicki took to her Instagram Story to blast the outlet. “Never said this. Had no clue anyone was mad. Don’t care. #Yikes,” she wrote. In their own way, it seems that TMZ is making sure they get the last word in because they’ve made yet another report about this topic, except this time they’ve actually spoken to Rosa Park’s family member to get their opinion on the matter.
TMZ received a quote from the Civil Rights leader’s nephew William McCauley that stated: “It was both heart breaking and disrespectful that Nicki Minaj would have a lyric in a song that can be used negatively when mentioning someone who provided her the freedoms that she has today.” They also claim to have spoken to Anita Peek, the executive director at the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development.
The publication reported that Peek, who worked closely with Rosa, said the late Civil Rights icon would “be extremely hurt by Minaj taking her bus protest — one of the most significant moments of the Civil Rights Movement — and putting a negative spin on it for a song, even if she was just trying to be clever or funny.”
Peek reportedly also urged Nicki to study the historical account of Rosa Parks and her refusal to give up her seat on the Montgomery, Alabama bus that led to the 381-day boycott.