The feud between rap artists Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion escalated to the point where crazed Minaj fans, known as the Barbz, have allegedly threatened to deface the grave of Megan's mother, Holly Thomas, who died of brain cancer in 2019.
The cult-like fanbase has been trolling anyone who speaks ill of Minaj and has also been reportedly doxxing fans of Megan and her collaborators online—including releasing the location of her mom's gravesite.
As a result, the Houston police and local authorities have amped up security at the gravesite.
According to TMZ, security at the cemetery "will continue to monitor the situation as they take all matters regarding safety and security seriously."
Social media users thought the Barbz's threats and intimidation tactics were getting way out of hand.
@SaycheeseDGTL Nicki needs to tell her Barbz to stand down let her momma rest in peace \ud83d\udd4a\ufe0f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffd— (@)
The beef between the two chart-topping female rappers has had its twists and turns but it has been speculated the two former friends started turning on each other when Megan lent her vocals on the 2020 hit single "WAP" by Cardi B, whose rising success led to an adversarial relationship with Minaj that culminated in a physical brawl at a New York Fashion Week party in 2018.
Fans pointed this out as a starting point for the Minaj-Stallion squabble, especially after noticing that Minaj notably unfollowed Megan on Instagram in January 2021.
In March 2023, Minaj released “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” which was widely believed to be a diss track aimed at Stallion, with references to a branded song she wrote for a Super Bowl Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Doritos commercial, and Tory Lanez, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Stallion in the foot and shouting at her to "Dance, b*tch, dance."
The implied jabs in the diss tracks bring us to the present.
On January 26, Stallion released the track "Hiss" from her upcoming third studio album, and many of Minaj's fans believed some of the lyrics took aim at Minaj, causing her to lash out on social media.
The lyric that fans think sent Minaj on a viral rampage does not mention her by name but refers to “Megan’s Law,” a federal law that requires law enforcement to make registered sex offenders' information available to the public. The term presumably was used to attack Minaj's family.
For context, Minaj's husband, Kenneth Petty, is a registered sex offender who was convicted of attempted sexual assault in 1995 and suffered consequences for failing to register as a sex offender in California in 2022. That same year, the rapper's brother, Jelani Maraj, was sentenced to 25 years to life for charges relating to repeated sexual assault on a minor in 2015.
Minaj responded to "Hiss" with a diss track of her own called "Big Foot" with lyrics that once again reference Megan's shooting incident, exploit her sexual history, and accuse Megan of “lying on [her] dead momma."
Meanwhile, the Barbz have been enacting vengeance on Minaj's behalf by harassing and doxxing anyone online who has said anything remotely negative about their idol.
The "Barbie World" rapper has either remained silent while being cognizant of the Barbz's intimidation tactics or doxxed people herself and even encouraged her fans' to continue with their wild online behavior.
Now the police are involved after the Barbz divulged the location of Holly Thomas's grave and threatened to desecrate or dig up the gravesite.
As of this writing, Holly Thomas' grave remains undisturbed.
Minaj and Megan have yet to respond to reports about the threats on Thomas's gravesite.
