Nicki Minaj is in hot water after being called out for not crediting a dancer for his choreography that inspired the viral dance trend for her hit track, “FTCU.”
Last month, the “Yikes” rapper reached out to Donte Colley — the mastermind behind the dance — via X and promised to ensure he gets the credit he’s due. According to Colley, however, that has yet to happen.
“I was reached out to by a member of her team, and I wasn’t after payment for this,” Colley said in a recent video that’s been circulating online. “I was just looking for the opportunity to potentially collaborate and to receive credit, and neither one of those options seemed possible and have been rejected.”
After the video made its rounds on social media, a firery back and fourth ensued between Colley and Beau “Casper” Smart, a dancer who works with Minaj. Smart shared his own post, denying all of Colley’s claims. He alleges Colley was offered $100, concert tickets, and a meet and greet with Minaj. “He declined all this [and] demanded a shoutout and to get to dance on stage w/ her,” he wrote.
Colley quickly responded to Smart and said he never declined any of the aforementioned things, saying that he only wanted a chance to go on stage — but when that no longer went as planned, he opted to move on from the situation. “I would never consider selling my work for that amount. I really appreciate Nicki for tweeting that she wanted to make things right,” he said.
He continued:” However, the person that she put in charge has not made this a positive experience. And all I’ve asked for is for her to repost the original video and to tag me, just like the other videos. And if that’s not possible, just to remove the choreo.”