Fox News is reporting that Nicki Minaj came to the Grammy awards last night hoping to win "Best New Artist." Not only did she leave empty-handed, but her Church-bashing show left even the stage hands confused, embarrassed and offended.
The first clue about what she had in mind for the evening came on the red carpet when she showed up in a scarlet nunnish-type outfit on the arms of an older man who was dressed as the pope.
She later debuted a new song from her forthcoming album, "Roman Reloaded," and put on a show that was supposed to simulate an exorcism. It included a mock levitation, fire, lightning, and other incoherent gibberish. A white-hooded church choir sang a strange rendition of "Come All Ye Faithful" while Minaj strapped herself to a table and was lifted into the air while flames burned beneath her. The most vulgar part was a when a scantily clad female dancer stretched backwards while an altar boy knelt between her legs in prayer.
"The mood backstage was a mixture of confusion, embarrassment and offense as the performance dragged on, going deeper and deeper in mocking Catholic faith," Fox reports.
Even the liberal Hollywood press panned the show. "No Lady Gaga performance at the 2012 Grammys? Bummer. But wanna-be controversial rapper Nicki Minaj was happy to do her best Gaga imitation," wrote The Hollywood Reporter (THR). "All of Minaj's sacrilegious button-pushing is bound to annoy the Christian Right, the moral majority and make a few fleeting headlines."
E! online referred to her as the "Worst Spectacle" with a "kinda silly" and "way too long" performance.
Entertainment Weekly called it "a mess featuring a whole lot of religious imagery, a smattering pyro and no real messages to be found."
Comments from Grammy watchers were even worse.
"Dear Nicki Minaj, You make me grateful for fast forward on DVR," said one commenter.
Another was more graphic: "This nicki minaj performance makes me want to fill my ears with cement then super glue my eyelids together and punch myself in the face," one viewer tweeted.
With the disrespect of religion so hot in the news these days, many people expressed their disgust that she chose to mock the Church, saying "religion shouldn't be disrespected like that."
Catholic League president Bill Donohue points out that Minaj's show was no accidnet.
" . . . (A)ll of it was approved by The Recording Academy, which puts on the Grammys. Whether Minaj is possessed is surely an open question, but what is not in doubt is the irresponsibility of The Recording Academy. Never would they allow an artist to insult Judaism or Islam."
He adds: "It’s bad enough that Catholics have to fight for their rights vis-à-vis a hostile administration in Washington without also having to fend off attacks in the entertainment industry. The net effect, however, will only embolden Catholics, as well as their friends in other faith communities.
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