What to Know
Following Nicki Minaj‘s joint appearance with president Donald Trump earlier this week, the rapper continues to get plenty of flak from former fans and haters alike online. But now, a photographer who once worked with her on a shoot for New York Times magazine is speaking out, sharing that his experience working with her was the opposite of a positive experience.
Photographer Erik Madigan Heck shared his story on an Instagram post.
While sharing the photo he shot for Nicki’s 2015 cover of New York Times Magazine, Erik told the story of his experience, which required him to fly out to Los Angeles from New York just as his wife was due to give birth to their first baby. Ahead of time, other photographers had warned him that Nicki had a reputation for showing up to shoots late.
Everything seemed to be going fine until the actual shoot.
“But then after 8 frames, meaning specifically 8 frames of clicking the shutter — she walked off set and said, “you got it.” Which was fine, because I normally do in the first 3 shots. Not to be a diva, but I’ll pat myself on the back for that,” he wrote. “Her contract with the New York Times was for 4 images to accompany her interview. After 3 pictures, and her posting them on IG in real time from her phone, she wanted to leave. It was a s—show, to be kind.”
Erik added, “I was appalled at the fact that the magazine wanted to continue with her as a cover subject — not just because of the shoot, but because of her interview, where she also walked off-set during her sit down conversation.”
It doesn’t surprise him at all that Nicki is now MAGA.
After calling her an “agitator,” Erik also mentioned that he noticed that Nicki spoke to her bodyguards “like peasants.”
“Now, reading her pro-Trump admiration, I can only feel more dignified in knowing at the time that she was a total piece of s—. Not just as a human, but also with her music,” he said.
A stylist who once worked with the rapper also shared her story.
In a comment on Erik’s post, stylist Lysa Cooper shared a similar story from working on a shoot with Nicki for Rolling Stone, to which she was four hours late.
“She then proceeded to be horrible to the Photographer, not to mention everybody else in the room. Rolling Stone reneged on her cover,” Lysa wrote.
With this kind of reputation and becoming such a staunch supporter of MAGA seemingly overnight, it look like Nicki has landed herself into some hot water with many of her fans.
