Nicki Minaj ended her acceptance speech during the MTV Video Music Awards Sunday night by calling Miley Cyrus a bitch.
After thanking her pastor, Minaj said, “Now back to this bitch who had a lot to say about me the other day in the press. Miley, what’s good?”
“Hey,” Cyrus replied. “We’re all in this industry, we all do interviews and know how they manipulate.”
It’s unclear if the insult was staged.
In an interview with the New York Times this week, Cyrus criticized Minaj for complaining about an award nomination snub. (RELATED: Taylor Swift Apologizes After Nicki Minaj Blames Nomination Snub On Being Black)
“What I read sounded very Nicki Minaj, which, if you know Nicki Minaj is not too kind. It’s not very polite,” Cyrus said.
“I think there’s a way you speak to people with openness and love. You don’t have to start this pop star against pop star war. It became Nicki Minaj and Taylor in a fight, so now the story isn’t even on what you wanted it to be about… I know you can make it seem like, ‘Oh I just don’t understand because I’m a white pop star.’ I know the statistics. I know what’s going on in the world. But to be honest, I don’t think MTV did that on purpose.”
Billy Ray Cyrus was in the audience Sunday night. (PHOTOS: Miley Cyrus Barely Wears Clothes On Red Carpet)