A dayslong online feud between rappers Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion came to a head Sunday with the release of Minaj's dis track, "Big Foot."
The song debuted days after Megan, whose real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, dropped "Hiss," in which she appeared to refer to Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, with the line: "These h--- don’t be mad at Megan/these h--- mad at Megan’s Law."
Petty is a registered sex offender in the state of California. Megan's Law is a federal law that requires convicted sex offenders to register with the state and provide their information to the community.
In 2021, Petty pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex offender in California. He was required to register as a sex offender after being convicted at the age of 16 of first-degree attempted rape in 1995 while living in New York and spending nearly four years in prison.
Although Megan doesn't mention Petty or Minaj by name, some speculated that the track was actually a response to Minaj's March 2023 song “Red Ruby Da Sleeze" that appeared to take a jab at Pete.
“Seven hundred on ’em horses when we fixing to leave/But I don’t f--- with horses since Christopher Reeves,” Minaj raps in that song.
After "Hiss'" was released, Minaj began posting relentlessly on X and Instagram. She attacked Megan and shared posts from her supportive fans, known colloquially as "Barbz."
In one post to X, Minaj referred to Megan's popular 2019 song "Hot Girl Summer," on which Minaj was featured.
"Didn’t charge her for the hot girl summer verse that I recorded the night she BEGGED & BEGGED to go on my live. But it’s ok," she wrote.
Minaj's shared the lyrics to "Big Foot" on Sunday on X after previewing new music to her fans.
After an intro that refers to the death of Megan's mother, Holly Thomas, from a brain tumor in 2019, and an interview Pete did with Gayle King, Minaj's first verse opens by mentioning Megan directly, as well as her "Megan's Law" line.
In the outro of the song, Minaj says: "Now listen up, Big Foot/You know I got a lotta tea/I went easy on you" and shortly after adds that I don’t think you want the next installment of this song/I know it’s the most attention you’ve ever gotten."
The cover image of the song, which shows a pink boot standing on a much larger footprint, and the references to "big foot" and a line in the song that refers to Megan's "good foot," all appear to nod to rapper Tory Lanez's shooting of Megan in the foot in 2020. Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assault with a semi-automatic firearm, carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.
Neither Minaj nor Megan’s teams immediately responded to a request for comment on their ongoing beef. NBC News has also reached out to Petty.
Some cheered Minaj on. One fan posted to X saying, "Nicki why would you decimate her like that?"
But others found Minaj’s response distasteful and thought her fans were going too far in their attempts to retaliate against Megan. One fan wrote that Barbz had publicly shared the location of Thomas’ grave and alleged that Minaj was egging those fans on.
“Giving your fans the green light to vandalize Megan’s mom’s grave is insane, Nicki Minaj is sick,” one person posted.
