Ghosted and Goaded: Inside the Baffling Social Media Beef Between SZA and Nicki Minaj

It was the highly public, yet utterly perplexing, feud that dominated the music world’s attention over the summer. R&B titan SZA and rap queen Nicki Minaj traded scathing barbs across social media, escalating from cryptic posts to highly personal attacks. Now, SZA, speaking publicly for the first time in a major November cover story, has clarified the situation with a simple, bewildering assertion: there is “no backstory” to the dispute. The singer, whose real name is Solána Rowe, stated plainly that she does not know Minaj and has “no connection” to her, admitting she was genuinely surprised by the confrontation that unfolded on X. The revelation underscores the bizarre, often unprovoked nature of high-profile celebrity conflict, leaving the industry to dissect the digital exchange that somehow erupted between two artists at the top of their respective genres, seemingly over nothing at all.

The Subtweet That Ignited the Internet

The conflict, which unfolded largely in July, appears to have stemmed from a misunderstanding regarding a comment about SZA’s former management. The initial spark was struck when Nicki Minaj, whose history with several industry figures is well-documented, posted comments believed to be aimed at Terrence “Punch” Henderson, the president of Top Dawg Entertainment and SZA’s former manager.

Shortly after Minaj’s posts, SZA took to X to write, “Mercury retrograde .. don’t take the bait lol silly goose.” The timing was enough for Minaj and her dedicated fanbase to interpret the message as a direct, mocking subtweet. Though SZA later denied she was speaking about or to Minaj, clarifying that her post was only about the astrological retrograde, the damage was done. Minaj promptly fired back, launching a verbal assault that quickly transformed a misunderstanding into a full-blown war of words, drawing attention to her posts with hashtags related to unrelated legal matters.

Trading Jabs: Artistic Integrity vs. Personal Attacks

Once the exchange began, the nature of the conversation quickly devolved from industry commentary to scathing personal insults. Minaj escalated the confrontation by attacking SZA’s appearance, writing that the singer “look[ed] and sound[ed] like she got stung by a f***ing bee” and also targeting SZA’s use of makeup, telling her to “Go draw your freckles back on bookie.”

Beyond the personal jabs, Minaj also issued a pointed critique of SZA’s career trajectory and professional integrity. She specifically took aim at SZA’s decision to re-release her hugely successful 2022 album, SOS, as the deluxe version Lana in December 2024. Minaj suggested this was an “insecure lack of morals and integrity,” claiming the move was intended to push the original album to break records. The rapper then went further, attempting to diminish SZA’s artistic contribution entirely, claiming that if “every song [SZA had] ever done vanished right now the music business wouldn’t even miss [her],” and stating she had “been to countries that never heard of [SZA].

The Receipt Drop: SZA’s Quiet Counterattack

Facing a barrage of insults and claims of irrelevance, SZA—who typically maintains a non-confrontational and reserved social media presence—chose to respond with a strategic deployment of “receipts” that effectively shut down Minaj’s claims of ignorance.

The R&B artist posted a screenshot of a text message exchange from 2020, revealing that Minaj had, on more than one occasion, reached out to her seeking a feature on a song called “Don’t Do.” SZA used this evidence to directly challenge Minaj’s claims of not knowing her work, writing: “You absolutely know my music and what I contribute cause you’ve asked for features twice to no response.” SZA also subtly reminded the rapper of their previous professional connection, pointing out that she co-wrote the 2014 hit “Feeling Myself,” which featured Minaj rapping SZA’s own lyrics. This countermove turned the focus back onto Minaj, suggesting the hostility was misplaced and surprising given their history.

The Aftermath and Industry Reaction

As the exchange intensified, SZA attempted to step away from the fray, posting a message stating she was going back to being “calm shy and meek,” emphasizing that she was focusing on the “REAL love” she received from fans while on her packed stadium tour. Despite this attempt at a graceful exit, Minaj continued the critique, using social media and other platforms to refer to SZA as “MZA” and a “yodeling fool,” and even reposting old tweets from SZA that appeared to criticize other major figures in pop, including Beyoncé and Rihanna.

The visibility of the conflict was so high that it inevitably drew in other industry players. Fellow rapper Cardi B, who has her own documented history of feuds with Minaj, weighed in on the situation in October, publicly expressing confusion and surprise that SZA was being targeted, asking on X, “who tf beef with SZA??” The exchange, therefore, not only highlighted a personal conflict but also reinforced a broader, ongoing industry narrative regarding persistent online tension between high-profile female artists.

The Current State and Future of the Feud

SZA’s recent interview in November 2025 provides the most definitive closure to the matter from her perspective. Her statement that the feud was “a little strange” and her insistence that she and Minaj “have no connection to each other” strongly suggests that she views the incident as a brief, bewildering explosion of online drama, rather than a deep-seated professional rivalry.

Currently, both artists remain at the peak of their careers, having each scored three No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. While SZA continues to work on her next album, and Minaj focuses on her 2023 release, Pink Friday 2, the public and digital nature of the feud means that any future interaction, or lack thereof, will be heavily scrutinized. The saga serves as a modern cautionary tale of celebrity in the digital age, where a simple tweet—or even a tweet completely unrelated to a particular celebrity—can be misinterpreted, leading to a sprawling, high-stakes public conflict.