SZA vs. Nicki Minaj: From Punch Lines to Petty Tweets — A Timeline of Subtle Smoke & Brutal Shade

💡 TL;DR

• Nicki Minaj dissed TDE’s Punch on X — SZA’s label boss
• SZA tweeted during the chaos about not “taking bait” in Mercury retrograde
• Nicki Minaj clapped back directly, attacking SZA’s looks & career
• SZA ratioed Nicki and dropped Grammy selfies — fans screamed
• Nicki questioned SZA’s Spotify streams & accused her of using bots

🔥 The Spark: Punch & Petty Timing

Things started when Nicki Minaj came for Punch, Top Dawg Entertainment’s co-president, accusing him of being shady toward her artistry. Fans were already eating up the drama — but then SZA logged in.

Without mentioning names, SZA tweeted:

"I'm not taking any bait this Mercury retrograde. Y'all stay safe tho 😌"

The Barbz instantly clocked the timing and took it as a sneak diss. And that’s when Nicki responded… directly.

👀 The Queen Responds... and Unleashes

Nicki quote-tweeted SZA and said she looks and sounds like she “got stung by a bee” and called her a “ded dog.” 😭 The attack went personal fast. SZA? She didn’t panic — she played it cool and ratioed Nicki’s tweet.

Then a Barb tweeted that SZA should stop hiding behind Kendrick and go on a solo tour. SZA responded with proof of her own headlining tour, including international stops and sold-out venues. Receipts were served.

💅 Calm, Shy, & Grammy-Posted

SZA tried to take the high road, tweeting:

"I wanna go back to being calm, shy and meek. Time to log off & prep for Paris."

Nicki wasn’t done. She quote-tweeted again, calling SZA “ugly,” “chubby,” and “skinny” in the same post — then accused her of botting Spotify numbers and questioned missing stream data.

SZA? She let the silence speak — then posted a glowing Grammy selfie, subtly reminding everyone who had hardware. Fans screamed.

📱 Fan Reactions

• @WigSnatchedDaily: “SZA ratioed Nicki and posted a Grammy??? I would NEVER recover.”
• @PinkFridayHive: “She was being passive aggressive first, so yeah Nicki cleared her 💅🏽”
• @ctrlaltelite: “Calling someone chubby AND skinny is insane behavior 💀”

The Barbz and SZA fans are still going tweet-for-tweet, and the memes are flying. Even neutral fans are begging both sides to “go back to the studio and fight with music.”

🎤 The JAM Take

What started as a label boss clash exploded into a Twitter war of looks, streams, and subtle shade. SZA stayed calm but never stayed silent, while Nicki let it fly with pure venom. Fans? They’re choosing sides like it’s election season.

As always, the internet wins. And this beef? It’s far from done.