Looks like glossy magazines are learning from the mistakes of others. In a memorably disastrous piece late last year, The New York Times Magazine ran a profile on Nicki Minaj that was full of latent slut-shaming and ended rather abruptly, with Minaj kicking the interviewer out of her room for trying to drag Nicki into the drama between Wayne and Birdman. Interesting.
It was a disappointing moment for fans of Nicki, yes, but also for those of us in the media who think Minaj deserves an interviewer who can engage with her in a meaningful way for the story. (See Complex‘s 2014 cover story for a good example of how to do that.)
Well, Marie Claire was paying attention, and they enlisted transgender woman of color Janet Mock to write their cover story on Minaj. Ironically, both interviews begin in the Trump Hotel, a detail that’s gained quite a bit of significance in the space between the two profiles. Here’s the cover:
From the snippets that are available online, it seems clear that Mock and Minaj had an incredible conversation, one that covers everything from Jay Z as Nicki’s business-mind role model, to how violence against people of color specifically impacts women of color, and why she enjoys working with Beyonce so much.
On the way women of color dealing with violence are often ignored:
“We tend to not remember the black women who are mourning these men and who are thinking, Oh, my God, what am I going to tell my child now about where his father is, and the struggle it is for black women to then move on after they lose their husband or their boyfriend… The strong women in these inner cities often go unnoticed… no one really ever puts a hand out to them.”
On why Beyoncé inspires so many women:
“Every time Bey and I do something together, I see how women are inspired, and it has nothing to do with how we look. It has to do with how we are owning who we are and telling other women you should be the boss of your own career and the brains behind your life or your decisions or your art. I just love that feeling.”
The entire interview will be on newsstands on October 18 in Marie Claire‘s November issue.
