Salon on Monday apologized for an errant tweet (since deleted) that called Nicki Minaj’s acceptance speech at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards a “savage, expletive-laden rant,” responding to criticism from readers who said the tweet was racist.
The bulletin, sent this morning from Salon’s main Twitter account, promoted a story summarizing a heated moment at last night’s VMA awards, when Minaj called host Miley Cyrus a bitch for remarks she made in the press. “The look on Miley’s face during Nicki Minaj’s savage, expletive-laden rant says it all,” the tweet read:
This @salon promo tweet for @NICKIMINAJ #VMAs post is worse than @wsj & China – no way to write it off as clueless. pic.twitter.com/x6fLvNKhMA
— Staci D Kramer (@sdkstl) August 31, 2015
Salon quickly reversed itself, deleting the original tweet and posting a revised version that called Minaj’s rebuttal “raw” and “righteous.”
The look on Miley's face during Nicki Minaj's raw, righteous rebuke says it all http://t.co/y9hLbnbZX6 pic.twitter.com/TCZ3jaaav1
— Salon.com (@Salon) August 31, 2015
But it was too late.
@Salon No acknowledgement of the mistake?
— Robin Elizabeth (@robin_ec) August 31, 2015
@Salon just delete the article
— Imperator Furiosa (@TheTombRaider__) August 31, 2015
and it's gone. deleting the tweet isn't going to make the issue go away, @Salon
— Staci D Kramer (@sdkstl) August 31, 2015
@Salon go ahead and apologize for the original, racist, tweet
— King OBES (@ohohEN) August 31, 2015
The folks over @salon figured out how racist their last Nikki Minaj tweet was and deleted it. Then retweeted with different adjectives (1/2)
— Mariya Karimjee (@M_Karimjee) August 31, 2015
Salon apologized for the tweet hours later, calling the original version “a poor choice of words.”
Earlier today we used a poor choice of words in describing Nicki Minaj's VMA acceptance speech. We apologize to Ms. Minaj and our readers
— Salon.com (@Salon) August 31, 2015
It’s been a bad few days for news organizations on Twitter. On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal apologized for a tweet that inadvertently used a racial slur in association with Chinese President Xi Jinping. On Saturday, The Associated Press described accomplished human rights lawyer Amal Clooney with the modifier “actor’s wife.”
