Former NFL star clarifies comments and extends open invitation to rapper after misunderstanding
Shannon Sharpe has issued a sincere apology to Nicki Minaj following a lyrical jab she directed at him on her new track with Lil Wayne, “Banned from NO.” On the song, Minaj rapped:
“‘Bout to cop you slides, all you do is flip-flop / If I send a pic of Shannon, you ain’t that Sharpe.”
The diss appeared to reference a past incident where Sharpe responded “Nicki who?” after a fan suggested she appear on his Club Shay Shay podcast — a moment Minaj seemingly didn’t forget.
On a recent episode of his Nightcap show, Sharpe addressed the line and clarified that his comment had been misinterpreted. “I was talking about Nikki Haley, not Nicki Minaj,” he said. “Nicki, I was not trying to be disrespectful. Of course I know who you are.”
Sharpe added a personal touch to the apology: “Even if you just want to have a private conversation on the phone, it won’t go any further between you and I.”
He concluded: “Intent only matters to me. Clearly you’re still offended, so I apologize sincerely and hope we can move forward.”
Minaj also used the track to call out JAY-Z and the NFL for overlooking Lil Wayne for the Super Bowl halftime show, spitting:
“NFL, fire some n-ggas and then call us.”
Neither Minaj nor Wayne have responded publicly to Sharpe’s apology as of yet.