Miley Cyrus attacks Nicki Minaj over MTV Video Music Awards gripe

Miley Cyrus has waded into Nicki Minaj's brief war of words with Taylor Swift by insisting the Anaconda star's remarks following her MTV Video Music Awards shut out for the top prize were "not very polite".

Minaj appeared to take aim at Swift, who was nominated for the Video of the Year honor, when she suggested her promo for Anaconda was overlooked because it didn't feature "women with very slim bodies".

But when the pop star challenged Minaj, the rapper insisted she'd misunderstood what she was trying to say, stating she was trying to make a race point, not take aim at Swift's videos.

Swift apologized to Minaj on social media on 23 July (15), admitting, "I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke", and the rapper has since revealed the two stars have also spoken on the phone.

But now Cyrus, who will host Sunday's (30Aug15) MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, has made her thoughts about Minaj's outburst known, telling the New York Times, "She was saying that everyone was white and blonde that got nominated, I heard? And then Taylor Swift butted in...

"If you do things with an open heart and you come at things with love, you would be heard and I would respect your statement. I don’t respect your statement because of the anger that came with it. And it’s not anger like, 'Guys, I'm frustrated about some things that are a bigger issue'. You made it about you.

"Not to sound like a b**ch, but that’s like, 'Eh, I didn’t get my VMA...' If you want to make it about race, there’s a way you could do that. But don’t make it just about yourself. Say, 'This is the reason why I think it's important to be nominated. There’s girls everywhere with this body type'.

"What I read sounded very Nicki Minaj, which, if you know Nicki Minaj is not too kind. It’s not very polite. 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 (sic).

"I know you can make it seem like, 'Oh, I just don't understand because I'm a white pop star'. (But) I know the statistics. I know what's going on in the world... I don’t think MTV did that (not nominate Minaj for Video of the Year) on purpose."