Sergio Kletnoy—the entertainment director at Vogue magazine—is saying sorry after leaving some questionable emojis under Nicki Minaj’s Instagram Live feed that seemed to make light of Megan Thee Stallion being shot in the foot. But Black Twitter did not let him get away with it.
During the livestream, as well as on the song “Bigfoot,” Minaj mocked the fact that Meg was shot in 2020 by Tory Lanez (he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime last year). She called the “Body” rapper a “bullet fragment foot b***h.”
Kletnoy added insult to injury by commenting with numerous foot emojis and commented with,“Not ‘fragment foot’ lol not even a whole foot?” Kletnoy’s role at the prestigious fashion magazine includes booking celebrities for photoshoots as well as interviews—which translates to him having a lot of power, and when fans noticed they began to call him out.
“If @voguemagazine @VogueRunway do not dismiss Sergio Kletnoy, then I am going to assume their work environment is one of hostility towards women victims and that they are a corporation which tolerates the mocking of abuse sufferers,” wrote one social media commentator on X.
In November, Nicki covered Vogue for the first time and in one of her Instagram posts she went out of her way to thank Kletnoy personally. “Sergio, THANK YOU & the entire team for making this such an enjoyable, iconic, unforgettable experience!!!!”
After more calls for Kletnoy to be fired, he released an apology over the weekend.
“I am a huge music lover and support many artists (especially female artists). Everyone who knows me knows I love Nicki, Megan and so many other musicians. I joined a livestream from one of my fave artists and was excited to hear there’s a new song from her,” Kletnoy posted to his Instagram story. “I made comments that unfortunately were taken the wrong way. I never meant to mock or insult anyone and have always been a fan of both women. My apologies if my comments offended or hurt anyone.”
But not everyone is buying it.
“Why can’t #sergiokletnoy just admit he did it with malicious intent? Own it. Damn,” wrote another social media commentator on X. And we have to wonder the same.
Kletnoy has set his Instagram page to private following the backlash. Minaj’s antics when toward her industry peers have been deplorable for years, but Kletnoy needs to take several seats.