Minaj entered the Grammys with a faux priest at her side. (Christopher Polk/WireImage)
Nicki Minaj’s performance during the Grammy Awards, featuring an exorcism of her alter ego “Roman Zolanski,” left many viewers scratching their heads and the executive producer of the show distancing the Recording Academy from the performance.
Queens rapper Minaj began her performance of her new track “Roman Holiday,” off her upcoming album “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded,” in a confessional booth. Soon a short film played, showing Minaj eerily putting on pink lipstick while singing “I Feel Pretty.” When a priest enters her room, Minaj goes berserk.
PHOTOS: GRAMMY AWARDS RED CARPET ARRIVALS
KATY PERRY, RIHANNA PERFORM ‘REVENGE’ SONGS AT GRAMMYS
Soon, the action flashed back to the stage, where Minaj was strapped to a prop wall in front of an elaborate set of stained glass. Backup dancers in assorted Catholic garb performed as the singer broke free from the wall and joined them. At the tail end of the performance, Minaj appeared to levitate toward the ceiling.
The performance lead to many confused tweets, and outrage on the part of the Catholic League.
“Whether Minaj is possessed is surely an open question, but what is not in doubt is the irresponsibility of The Recording Academy,” wrote league President Bill Donohue. “Perhaps the most vulgar part was the sexual statement that showed a scantily clad female dancer stretching backwards while an altar boy knelt between her legs in prayer.”
While the Recording Academy has not denounced Minaj’s performance, Grammys Executive Producer Ken Ehrlich did did appear to distance himself and his organization from Minaj’s performance in an interview with Gayle King on “CBS This Morning.”
“One thing that is always very important to us is that we don’t like to restrict artists’ creative freedom. She came to us with that idea. Often the ideas are ours, but sometimes they’re the acts we work with,” said Ehrlich.
When asked what he thought while reviewing Minaj’s concept, Ehrlich said, “I didn’t say ‘great.’ I looked at it and said ‘OK.’ I knew about her alter ego and was kind of aware of what that was. I definitely had some questions about that one.”
Minaj’s new album is expected to heavily feature her alter ego, which she once explained to MTV News.
“Everybody knows my favorite alter ego is Roman,” Minaj said. “He’s the boy that lives inside of me. He’s a lunatic and he’s gay … [He’s] bad. That’s why I like Roman … People are expecting him to do some real craziness on the next album.”