Celebs

Winnie Harlow Says Her MTV EMAs Award Announcement Was Not Shade Towards Cardi B

Winnie Harlow stepped into the ongoing “Queen of Hip-Hop” conversation to clarify her recent use of the compliment. As you may already know, Winnie basically dumped a can of gasoline unto a budding fire over the weekend. The model addressed Nicki Minaj as “the one and only Queen of Hip-Hop’ while announcing Nicki’s ‘Best Hip-Hop’ win at the 2021 MTV Europe Music Awards. Now, Winnie has clarified there wasn’t any shade in her compliment towards Cardi B.

Winnie Denies Being Shady

“I didn’t see Halle’s speech at the time. I been a fan since middle school & have always felt that way,” Winnie wrote. “I didn’t know Nicki won until they handed me the envelope backstage but I’m proud af. Cardi is a sweetheart to me. What shade? I’m a fan of both.”

Winnie was responding to a tweet that said she was “right on time” with her Nicki compliment.

“Last night Halle Berry tried to be shady and said Cardi B is the Queen of Hip Hop. While announcing Nicki Minaj as the #emas hip hop winner, WINNIE cleared Halle and said Nicki is the ONLY queen of hip hop! I agree,” Twitter user Female Wrap Game wrote.

Halle Berry Calls Cardi B The “Queen of Hip-Hop”

If you’re wondering what Cardi and Halle Berry have to do with the conversation, let’s take it back to a few days ago. Halle took the mic at a screening for her upcoming movie ‘Bruised.’ While speaking, she took a moment to thank Cardi for being a co-executive producer on the film’s soundtrack.

I want to say thank you today to Cardi B, shes my partner in crime, Halle said. I reached out to her, of course shes the Queen of Hip-Hop. I reached out to Cardi and we paired and we created I think a soundtrack and an album that is not only historical, but I think is a beautiful backdrop for this story.

Nicki’s fans, known as the Barbz, began to eat Halle up over her comment. However, the conversation began to trend when Winnie took the stage on Sunday at the 2021 MTV EMAs. She presented Nicki Minaj with the award for ‘Best Hip-Hop’ and used the same compliment. Folks on the internet interpreted the moment as shade. The phrases “Congratulations Nicki” and “Queen of Hip Hop” quickly began to trend on Twitter.

Halle also appeared on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on Monday evening and doubled down on Cardi being the “Queen of Hip-Hop.”

You know I do, Halle responded with the audience applauding in the background. But heres the thing, theres room for more than one queen people. Thats what we need to know. Nicki is a queen in her own right. H.E.R. is a queen. All these ladies to me are queens. It can always be more than one.

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Cassandra Santiago

Cassandra Santiago is a multimedia journalist, editor, and editorial strategist with over a decade of experience shaping conversations across arts, entertainment, culture, and global news. A graduate of the University of Iowa, she has built a cross-platform career spanning newspapers, magazines, radio, and digital media. She joined The Shade Room five years ago and currently serves as a Senior Editor, where she leads editorial direction, oversees exclusive coverage, and trains and edits a team of writers. Cassandra has played a key role in developing high-impact content and editorial strategies for an audience of more than 30 million, contributing to platform growth, engagement, and monetization across multiple channels. In addition to her leadership role, she remains a daily contributor, with her articles generating more than 41 million views since 2023. Beyond The Shade Room, Cassandra offers freelance social media strategy services, speaks on the influence and impact of Black media at public panels, and owns Did It For You, an event design company in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. She is Poynter Institute–certified and was named to the DMV’s 35 Under 35 list in 2024.

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