Taylor Swift has built an empire off of being unapologetic. But by yesterday (July 23), the "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" super star had said her sorries to Nicki Minaj over her misinterpretation of the rapper's criticism of the VMAs. (The short version: Minaj, whose "Anaconda" video broke several streaming records, felt she was snubbed in the Video of the Year category. On Twitter, she suggested that the entertainment media, MTV included, tends to reward female body types that fit rigid, white-defined standards of beauty. Taylor Swift responded angrily on Twitter, believing the remarks to be directed at her.)

But today, in a scheduling coincidence for which ABC must have sacrificed a lamb, Nicki used her Good Morning America appearance to discuss the confusion. "Everyone sometimes speaks out of turns," she said. "I’ve been there. Sometimes we do things and we don’t think right away or we don’t investigate, and then we just talk. So it was big of [Swift] to come out and say that. So, yeah, we spoke for a long time. We were cracking up laughing on the phone. It’s over, you guys." She didn't run back her shots at MTV, though: "We can’t just have one type of body being glorified in the media because it just makes girls even more insecure than we already are." After the interview, she took to the Central Park stage to perform "Feelin Myself" and "The Night Is Still Young":

On a more serious note, some skeptical observers wrongly believed that this week is the first time Nicki has been outspoken on social issues. As the third embedded tweet below shows, that's not the case, and in continuing that pattern, she's voiced her concern over the death of Sandra Bland. A Chicago native, Bland had recently moved to Texas, to accept a job in the Agriculture Department of her alma mater, Prairie View A&M. On the afternoon of July 10, a state trooper named Brian Encinia pulled up behind Bland's Hyundai, traveling quickly. Wanting to get out of the way, Bland moved from the left lane to the right. At this point, Encinia pulled over Bland's car, ostensibly for failing to signal her lane change.

Bland, who had spoken candidly about police brutality in the past, was agitated by the stop, but the transcript and widely-circulated video of the incident show she was not hostile or non-compliant. (That video has been roundly criticized for appearing to be edited by the police department.) Encinia repeatedly threatens Bland, eventually dragging her out of her car, handcuffed her and forced her to the ground. Despite Bland's complaints--that her head had been slammed into the pavement and that Encinia's knee was digging into her spine--she was arrested for "assaulting a public servant."


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