Nicki Minaj slammed for ridiculing ‘mentally ill’ woman

Nicki Minaj arrives at the 57th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015, in Los Angeles.  AP

Nicki Minaj was roundly criticized for mocking a “mentally ill” woman in Miami, Florida.

The “Side to Side” rapper posted a short clip on Instagram on Monday, where she filmed a woman shouting on a sidewalk. Minaj snickered and yelled at the woman to come back and talk to her. Minaj’s fans recognized the woman on the video as someone with a mental ailment who was frequently spotted in Miami’s South Beach.

The video, which was streamed 2 million times, prompted Instagram users to call her out for her “wrongdoing.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNnjrd7BLQ3/?taken-by=nickiminaj

“It’s sad. All the money and fame can only take people so far. Too bad you can’t buy respect or compassion. A big a** and some expensive clothes won’t inspire people. Big hearts and kind souls do,” one user commented.

TMZ reported that Minaj’s clip drew the ire of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-Miami), which commented that Minaj used her fame to bully the woman. “Nobody would make fun of a cancer patient, and mental illness is an illness like any other,” a representative told the entertainment news site.

The singer, 33, recently released her mobile game “Nicki Minaj: The Empire.”  Gianna Francesca Catolico

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