Editor’s note: According to Marge Feinberg, deputy press secretary of New York City Public Schools, Nicki Minaj wanted to flim her visit and planned to bring a TV crew.
“We do not allow reality TV to be filmed on school property,” Feinberg wrote in a statement. “For documentaries, any visit to a public school must be educational in nature and cannot intrude on instruction, and the decision about whether we can accommodate visits from celebrities is entirely up to the principal who manages the property.”
https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/510131234266427392https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/510131505054887936https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/510132174545514496https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/510132742370373632
Nicki Minaj fans are upset and have taken to the Rate My Teacher website to express their hatred for Lisa Mars, the principal at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. In case you didn’t know, Minaj graduated from the renowned LaGuardia, the high school on which the long running series Fame was based. LaGuardia is known for its popular arts program, which boasts alumni such as Diahann Carroll, Omar Epps, Laurence Fishburne, Tichina Arnold and Eartha Kitt.
Minaj, who wanted to give back to her school, is alleging that she was denied an opportunity to speak to current students.
As soon as Minaj expressed her dismay about being turned down, her followers went into full stan mode and disparaged Mars’ Rate My Teacher profile with comments like the ones below (and these are the ones suitable for reposting):
“Lisa Mars iz trash. If she coms in McDonalds wen Im wrking the drive thru, Imma spit in her burger. Barbz fo lyfe. We love lurning . Hang it up, flat screen. Anaconda dun dun dun dun #BARBZ #THUGLIFE #EJUCASHUN”
“She doesnt know talent when she sees it. A very fake, stubborn woman (if you want to call her that) who clearly isnt qualified for her job at a performing arts high school. Ive witnessed her xtube live webcam shows, where she goes by the name Dallas. Thank god its a free show and not a paycam because theres enough cottage cheese on ha to feed john and kate plus 8. I gave her 5 stars because she is very easy indeed”
“THIS WOMAN IS WRONG FOR NOT LETTING Nicki Minaj and her big fat roundness enter the school. She is the one who delivered one of the best rap verses of ALL TIME. She has worked with COUNTLESS icons like Kanye West, Rihanna, Beyonce and herself. She also has shown to be different among other rap females, she delivered an amazing song Pills N Potions which talked about forgiveness and love.”
Is it possible the school doesn’t want Minaj to speak because of her racy lyrics? Or is there a protocol that must be followed when it comes to the type of speakers allowed at LaGuardia?
Starrene Rhett Rocque, a LaGuardia graduate and journalist, feels that the school should embrace contemporary alumni like Minaj.
“It's not cool for the new principal to keep Nicki Minaj from speaking to LaGuardia students, whether she approves of Nicki or not, one of her students could very well be the next provocative big thing and they want to know what it's like on the other side. Even when I was a student there, they rarely let contemporary LaGuardia alum come visit us, and we actually had a cool principal at the time. We always got folks like Tony Bennett and Seinfeld. Not that those are bad choices, because we were excited to see them too, but kids want to hear from people they relate to more,” Rocque stated.
I’m definitely not sure if there are current students at LaGuardia who would be interested in the Seinfeld or Bennett types, but I do give Minaj credit to wanting to speak to students at the high school. It’s not often that celebrities actually want to give back.