Nicki Minaj has accused designer Giuseppe Zanotti of being racist towards her after his team refused to take any calls from her team amid Minaj’s alligations that he has yet to pay her for using her as inspiration for one of his shoe collections.
The issue lies in the claim that the shoes were both named after the rap star, and inspired by Minaj’s personality. Years ago, Zanotti confessed to her that Minaj’s flamboyant smile was the ultimate inspiration for the shoes, however, the designer failed to pay the superstar.
In total there are 23 different shoes named after her #RunMeMyCHECK #GiuseppeWhatsGood pic.twitter.com/jIw94bAXi0
— Tom Ford (@ThatShadyCunt) February 3, 2017
23 pairs of shoes, all priced over $300 each and are now removed from the company’s site, were named ‘Nicki’ and had a similar look to those that she wears.
This is wonderful. #GiuseppeZanotti seems to think it’s ok to name his sneakers after me but his PR says they won’t take our call. Lol.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) February 3, 2017
Giuseppe Zanotti has collaborated on capsule collections with singers Zayn Malik and Jennifer Lopez who, unlike Minaj, are actually making money off of them, which is the exact issue at hand. Clearly, the designer is not stingy in regards to sharing the profit made off of celebrity collections with the inspirations themselves, so why would Zanotti pay Malik and Lopez portions of the funds accumulated from their collections, but not Minaj? According to her, the problem lies in blatant racism.
The actual payment from the Zanotti doesn’t seem to concern Minaj who appears to be doing just fine without any of the shoe collection’s funds. Her issue lies in the respect and decency that Zanotti allegedly failed to provide to her. She has posted a tweet emphasizing that she would love to donate her proceeds that she has yet to receive to St. Jude’s Childrens’ Hospital.
I’d like them to donate to St. Jude’s Children’s hospital on my behalf. #GiuseppeWhatsGood Giorgina, I don’t wanna post your email.
— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) February 3, 2017
