This week, the feud between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion reached a boiling point. Last Friday, Megan Thee Stallion released her new song, “Hiss,” which allegedly took a shot at Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty. Last night, Minaj responded with a song called “Big Foot,” alluding to the fact that Megan was shot in the foot by Tory Lanez in 2020. And sure, we are not strangers to celebrity feuds in which fan bases on both sides take a stand, especially in music. (Minaj’s fans, known as the Barbz, are notorious for coming to her defense no matter how wrong she may be.)
But what we didn’t expect was that an unlikely player would emerge: a staff member from Vogue magazine. On Friday evening, Vogue’s entertainment director, Sergio Kletnoy, was among thousands of fans in Nicki’s comments on Instagram Live over the weekend: “Not ‘fragment foot’ lol not even a whole foot?” Kletnoy wrote. He also commented with multiple feet emoji, hinting at the “Big Foot” diss Nicki kept referring to in her Instagram Live.
Why does this matter, you might ask? Because Kletnoy books artists for interviews and photoshoots at Vogue. And with that comes a significant amount of power. After being called out, Kletnoy issued an apology via Instagram Stories: “Everyone who knows me knows I love Nicki, Megan, and so many other musicians,” he said, adding that he “joined a livestream from one of his favorite artists and was excited to hear there’s a new song from her.” He then wrote: “I never meant to mock or insult anyone and have always been a fan of both women. My apologies if my comments offended or hurt anyone.”
In November, Nicki was on the cover of Vogue for the first time, and in one of her Instagram posts she personally thanked — surprise, surprise — Kletnoy. “Sergio, THANK YOU & the entire team for making this such an enjoyable, iconic, unforgettable experience!!!!” she said before tagging him. Kletnoy’s Instagram page is now private following his comments. Vogue has not responded.
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