Nicki Minaj Talks Falling Out with Mariah, 'Fake' Industry, & 'Idol' Future
With only one more week of “American Idol” left in the season, Nicki Minaj sat down with Ryan Seacrest for E! News. The outspoken “Idol” judge discussed her “disenchantment” with fellow judge Mariah Carey and whether she will be returning for another season.
The Pink Friday rapper, who collaborated with Mariah on the remix to her 2010 single “Up Out My Face,” grew up idolizing the pop diva. But their relationship deteriorated once she joined the “Idol” panel.
“Imagine someone that you loved your whole life… Imagine you meeting them and then all of a sudden feeling like you did something horrible to them but you just don’t know what you did,” she told Seacrest. “That’s what my relationship with Mariah is, and that’s what it’s been from the beginning.”
What she thought was a friendship turned out to be anything but. “I just really thought that we were friends, but that’s the other thing I learned that this industry is so fake,” said Nicki. “You walk away thinking people are your friends and they’re not. It’s a couple nice hi and byes and then really, you better not step on nobody’s toes. And God forbid you get a little shine. And God forbid you’re maybe witty or quick on your toes or make someone laugh. Then maybe you’re making another person feel insecure. And you shouldn’t have to dim your light to let another person shine.”
She thought she and Mariah would get along, but instead, she ended up bonding with country star Keith Urban. “I came in to do ‘Idol’ really in my heart, thinking that we were going to be the most fun judges of all time. I was like, ‘I love Mariah.’ We’re gonna be so good together because we’re both funny, we’re crazy, we have a past relationship.”
It’s rumored that neither Nicki or Mariah will be returning for the 13th season of “Idol.” When asked if she will be coming back, she said, “That’s the million-dollar question.”
Either way, she is grateful for the opportunity. “I have to thank ‘Idol’ for giving me this chance. They could’ve picked anyone in the world and they picked me.”