Usher expressed regret for spanking rapper Nicki Minaj during their performance at the 2014 MTV VMAs. ‘I shouldn’t have hit her,’ he said. During an interview on Monday with Charlamagne Tha God and Jess Hilarious, the R&B star discussed his performance at the awards show a decade ago with the rapper.
“Have you seen some of your old moments, like when you were on stage with Nicki Minaj and you were hitting her butt with your head? Why were you so out of control?” Charlamagne asked Usher, referring to the performance in which he also slapped the singer’s rear. “Absolutely! —the singer justified— That was the Jamaican culture! So you gotta go to Jamaica. It was just a fun moment,” Usher said, referring to the island’s dance culture.
“By the way, I was the one playing the bass, so I probably would have hit my shoulder or hand, but I had the bass in my hand and I was playing, so I kind of jumped off her body. If you go back and look at the video, you’ll understand why I did it there for the first time.”
During his performance, Usher rubbed his shoulder and head against Minaj‘s buttocks while playing the bass during their rendition of “She Came to Give It to You,” before rising and spanking the 41-year-old rapper.
“However, I think I was going a little far when I hit her.” “I shouldn’t have slapped her. I shouldn’t have done that,” Usher admitted.
Jess brought up the conversation about the importance of supporting other black artists and about that controversial moment: “Look, you gotta lift her up!” “I was lifting her up!” the musician said.
This story was written in Spanish by Daniel Matute in Cultura Colectiva.
