Bebe Rexha has received backlash online for suggesting that Nicki Minaj is better than Cardi B in a recent live broadcast.

Recently, the Brooklyn-born star wrapped up the Asian leg of her ‘Best F*n Night Of My Life’ tour, celebrating her third album ‘Bebe’. Wrapping up, she and her stylist did a live broadcast on Instagram and praised Minaj, saying that she is “one of the best female rappers of all time.”

“She writes her own shit, number one,” Rexha said. “Number two, she’s always coming with new shit, like I have so much respect for her.”

Her stylist then chimed in to give props to all women in rap and that they shouldn’t be pitted against one another. This prompted the singer-songwriter to reply, “[People should] let Cardi do her thing.”

“I like Cardi because I fuck with her personality, I like how real she is, but like with Nicki, I just feel like the talent the writing talent, the musicality, the artistry…untouchable,” Rexha explained.

The stylist then added that “there’s a difference between being a rapper and a performer,” to which the 34-year-old defended the self-proclaimed Barbie: “Nicki is a good performer too. Nicki could stand right there [and do good].”

He also said that “Cardi is not writing 95 per cent [of her music],” and Rexha shut him down, telling him: “Let’s not get into that because we don’t want they [the #BardiGang] coming after us.”

Comparing Cardi B and Nicki Minaj’s artistry has rubbed the former’s fans the wrong way. “‘We need to stop putting women against each other’ then brings up women who were not mentioned. Doing exactly that,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another defended Cardi B, saying: “Bebe Rexha putting Cardi down in order to bring Nicki up is very telling. This [is] the same woman who said if she was on a sidewalk people wouldn’t know who she was.” One fan suggested that Rexha was irrelevant before mentioning the Bronx rapper, and has now gone “back to the dust where she belongs.”

Another fan quoted Cardi B’s 2016 verse on husband Offset’s single, ‘Clout’.

Minaj’s fans – known as “the Barbz” – have come to Rexha’s defence online and have thanked her for praising Minaj. “Nicki Minaj is the Queen of Rap! Anyone who disagrees argue with the wall,” a fan tweeted. Another tweet backed her up, saying, “It’s ok to say shorty isn’t lyrically talented. Stop sparing her. Be fair.”


Minaj and Rexha have featured on two songs together across their careers; in 2015, they collaborated on David Guetta-produced single ‘Hey Mama’ and, the following year, teamed up for ‘No Broken Hearts’.”

Rexha’s third album, ‘Bebe’, was released in April this year and featured songs with Dolly Parton (‘Seasons’), Snoop Dogg (‘Satelite‘) and David Guetta (the Grammy-nominated ‘I’m Good (Blue)’).

In other news, the singer explained why she turned down the offer to perform at this year’s MTV VMAs, saying she was “so anxious and stressed” about the red carpet.

Earlier this year, Rexha was struck in the eye by a phone thrown by a fan who thought “it’d be funny” when on stage, resulting in her suffering from major facial injuries.