Nicki Minaj & Demi Lovato made Zendaya’s dreadlocks Barbie about themselves

Last week, Zendaya got her own Barbie, which was fashioned after her Viviene Westwood and dreadlocks look at this year’s Oscars. All of this seemed fitting and rather amazing from Mattel, especially considering all the unnecessary fallout over Z’s righteous hairdo. Well, Nicki Minaj and Demi Lovato couldn’t let the moment pass. Both ladies did not simply congratulate Z. Instead, they took to social media and kind of made it about themselves.

Nicki’s statement wasn’t that bad. I think she genuinely wished Zendaya well, but she did post this photo ^^^ and a statement on Instagram: “Congrats on your doll, Zendaya! Did u know Barbie made me one a cpl years back?” Yes, Nicki did get her own Barbie, which was patterned after her technicolor phase. This is a “look at me!” gesture, but she also meant well.

Demi’s statement was more blatant in her attention grabbing ways. She exclaimed (in a now-deleted tweet, “Hey @Barbie, what about a curvy doll or one with true to size measurements? I’ll model!! 😝 #raiseyourvoice #besuper.” This tweet doesn’t mention Zendaya but only draws attention to Demi’s platform, and of course she volunteered to model.

Gossip Cop reports that Demi deleted her tweet after she suffered a backlash. People accused of her “trying to steal the spotlight from Zendaya,” and trying to grab the moment for herself. They said stuff like this: “I don’t feel like you care about Barbie making curvy dolls, I just think you want the attention tbh.” Another person wrote, “This is a big win for women of color. Wait a few days to talk about measurements.” Demi hasn’t commented further on the subject.

Zendaya is also classy enough to not go there with Demi. She did Instagram this photo with the following caption:

When I was little I couldn’t find a Barbie that looked like me, my…how times have changed. Thank you @barbie for this honor and for allowing me to be apart of your diversification and expansion of the definition of beauty. Can’t wait to keep doing amazing things with you.

[From Zendaya on Instagram]

Yep, there’s Zendaya being classy as always. I just love this lady.

Demi Lovato

Photos courtesy of Nicki Minaj on Instagram, Zendaya on Instagram & WENN

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94 Responses to “Nicki Minaj & Demi Lovato made Zendaya’s dreadlocks Barbie about themselves”

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  1. Dtab says:

    Demi Lovato….get over yourself please, I like you but come on please leave Zendaya have this moment and her barbie looks amazing.

    • Loopy says:

      Hey do these Barbies actually go on sale or they just make one for the celebs?

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Demi’s comment was tone deaf, but I thought Nicki’s was worse. So obviously trying to rub in that she got her’s first. Tacky.

      • Anna says:

        I don’t think Nicki’s was worse or bad at all. To me she was trying to find something in common with her and similarities between their experiences as black women to be getting a Barbie. It’s pretty significant for young girls of colour to have a doll that looks like them.
        Demi’s was offensive and ignorant. It’s not the time or place to be asking for a “curvy doll”. She’s shown multiple times before that she doesn’t know much about many social issues

      • Neah23 says:

        I agree with Anna to me Nicki was just trying to remind everyone that she has a Barbie mini me too.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        “Nicki was just trying to remind everyone that she has a Barbie mini me too”

        Yes, but that is peeing on someone else’s parade, stealing their thunder and all of that.

        I recognize the significance of young girls of color having dolls that they can relate to, that is long over due. I think Nicki could have supported that idea without trying to put the focus on her own doll. She doesn’t start off talking about what this represents, she starts off saying that she already has her own doll (been there, done that). The image she posted was of her own doll. 20 minutes later, she gets around to sharing an image of Z’s doll.

  2. ell says:

    lol twitter really ruins every single celeb. there’s no one i still like after reading their social media crap. no one.

    • truthSF says:

      But not every celebrity have social media, so there’s still hope.

    • Emily C. says:

      Seriously. If Matt Damon decided to start lecturing celebrities on how they should stay off social media entirely, he’d end up with a point. This often happens with authors too, who generally are a bit more educated, adult, and savvy, but are able to make fools out of themselves anyway. But social media means looking like a fool almost no matter who you are. For we peasants, that doesn’t matter, but when your career depends on selling a certain ideal of yourself to the world, it’s not a good idea.

  3. Naddie says:

    Demi, with all of her “poor me” speech, never fooled me. Her facial expressions say it all, what an idiot. From all of the brainless pop bunch, she’s one of the most annoying.
    Damn, I want a Zendaya Barbie like, now. It used to be my childhood dream to have a black barbie without straight hair.

    • Josephine says:

      I think Demi had some real mental health/image issues. But for her PR people to run with that as a way to gain or maintain attention is awful and getting tiresome. I’m not sure how she’s the poster girl for body-image. Hers doesn’t seem all that great and she’s just about as skinny as the rest of them.

      And I want that Barbie, too!

      • Kami says:

        True, Demi may look slightly bigger next to Miley or Ariana but she is still a slim girl by most standards. If I were going for diverse body types, I would find a much larger model. And then also have dolls with different body curves (big booty/little booty, broader shoulders/narrower shoulders).

        And Serena should really seriously have one by now. I would still detest Barbie and her “modelling womanhood to aspire to” nonsense, but she would be easier to live with.

      • Naddie says:

        Aw, she’s not. I guess these pop singers would only make insecure teenagers even more focused on looks. None of them promote inteligence or personality, so it’ll never work. Put Meghan Trainor and the skinny girls will feel bad, change for Demi Lovato and the fat girls will feel bad too. When looks are the only focus, no one wins (but I strongly agree with Kami about the different body types). On a personal note, I get that Zendaya’s barbie is much more than just looks, that’s why I support it.

    • Lama Bean says:

      Whattttt? I had a black Barbie with a big head of kinky-curly hair.

      • Naddie says:

        I envy you, seriously. The best I could find in my child years was a black Barbie with a long, straight blonde hair (I love her just the way she is, but I wanted another one without straight/slightly wavy hair).

      • Moneypenny says:

        I had a few too–remember DeeDee from Barbie and the Rockers? I still want a Zendaya Barbie for my 3 year old though!

      • Wilma says:

        Deedee! She was my absolute favorite doll. She has such a sweet smile and my favorite outfits looked the best on her.

      • Marie-France says:

        Deedee, With the flourescent clothes in Green and orange. I had that one too and loved her.

      • Wilma says:

        I just looked up the current black barbies, but the one they have now (on the mattel website) has pretty light skin, straight hair and the standard face mold.

  4. Matador says:

    These… are grown women, right? Scuffling over Barbie dolls? SMH.

    • Astrid says:

      Exactly! Who are these women and why are they so petty and mean.

    • Hawkeye says:

      Mmhmm and I love it!

    • Mixtape says:

      Sorry, for once Nicki was not scuffling. She was congratulating Zendaya, even if she mentioned her own doll. She has a much bigger fan base/platform than Zendaya, so I think it was great she called attention to Zendaya’s doll.

      • Pinetree13 says:

        I dunno….it was weird to mention her own doll, it really came across as “look at me! I had one first! See my doll? See it ! See it!” I think she could have mentioned it and not had a photo of hers.

  5. ldub says:

    this is really cool for kids out there with dreads.

    • minime says:

      Yes! And kids out there who are just not blond, blue eyed and white. I really like the diversity approach (they are still not the best example but at least are doing something).
      My Grandma gave me a “Marina Barbie” when I was a kid, so that I could actually play with one that looked more like me. I really loved that one! It would always generate a big confusion when I was playing with my cousins ’cause everyone wanted to “be” Marina πŸ˜€

  6. Aren says:

    At least Demi deleted her tweet. What Nicky said was really rude, it came across as “I already have one, don’t feel special because you’re not the first”. That “Did u know?” was also rather nasty.

  7. Kate says:

    Ugh, Minaj is especially annoying here. Seriously, post an image of Zendaya’s doll and congratulate her, then do a throwback post for your own if you really must.

    I feel like Demi just felt this might be a sort of watershed moment where Mattel might be more open to taking on other suggestions, but yeah, she misjudged and the ‘I’ll model’ comment made me cringe.

  8. jwoolman says:

    I used to like Demi, but the more she talks – the more I’m convinced she’s a major fake. She’s concocted a story for herself that reveals more and more holes as time goes on.

    This tweet was intended to attract attention to Demi and insult Zendaya at the same time. I wonder if she was sober when she wrote it.

  9. Angie says:

    I don’t want to criticize anyones struggles but Demi Lovato’s career for a while now has been based on her mental health and eating disorder. It’s literally brought up in everything she does; I think she’s extremely irrelevant and she is a keyboard activist like all these other self righteous celebrities.

    • Kitten says:

      This. I don’t even know what she does. Is she an actress? A singer?
      I just know her as “the girl who is perpetually oversharing.”

  10. tifzlan says:

    Demi Lovato has always been an attention-seeker. She always has to make everything about herself, no matter what it is. Can’t stand her but that damn Cool for the Summer song has been stuck in my head for a week now.

    In other news, I have always loved Barbie dolls and now that i’m 22, i’ve transitioned from playing to collecting them. Anyone know where i can get Zendaya’s Barbie? It’s absolutely stunning and i need it!

    • Shannon1972 says:

      I collect Barbies too, and this is one of the loveliest dolls I’ve seen. They really captured her unique beauty. Have you checked Barbiecollector.com? They always have the latest offerings.

    • Imo says:

      I think Mattel should be criticized for not making this doll available to little girls.

    • Chinoiserie says:

      I colect LE Disney dolls, it is fun that adults can have some fun with dolls as well.

    • Otaku Fairy says:

      I got a little bit into collecting and customizing dolls a while back and bought the synthetic hair, the paint, and some sewing stuff. It’s fun, but it can also be really time-consuming and I haven’t worked on anything in a long time.

      • The Eternal Side-Eye says:

        Ooh Otaku, I’m not sure you’ll ever see this comment but that sounds really cool. I’ve often toyed with the idea of doing customizing after seeing the amazing offerings others have made. Wish you had space to speak about it more.

  11. Nancy says:

    Malibu Barbie is still chilling in her box in my storage room. She is still chaste as my mom never did get me the Ken I so wanted.

  12. lucy2 says:

    Zendaya continues to be awesome. I think she’s one of the few celebrities who thinks about what she’s going to put out there in the world before she does it.
    There are just some people who can never let someone else say something or have something without trying to put themselves into it too. It’s so annoying and immature. Just congratulate her and move on!

    • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

      Yes, I think Zendaya is very gracious. I’m not a big Barbie fan, but I think she has handled the whole sort of ridiculous situation well.

    • Kitten says:

      Agreed. She seems extraordinarily mature and thoughtful compared to her counterparts. Also, she does seem very intentional about how to use the celebrity platform she’s been granted. She seems to have a good understanding about the power of that.

  13. Tara says:

    Zendaya is so cute. I complained about Demi Lovato before because she just couldn’t let Zendaya have her moment. She had to make it about herself. We all know Nicki Minaj has an ego on her too. I thought she was being self absorbed with the VMA comments too.

    This is one thing we are seeing with social media: just how self-absorbed and egotistical celebrities really are. We already knew it, but now they have a platform for it.

  14. Crumpet says:

    Those were not dreadlocks.

  15. Emily says:

    Where can I buy a Zendaya doll? I want one so bad…. :'(

    I desperately want her and my favorite Jasmine/Rajah doll set from 23 yrs ago to be best friends on my desk.

    • The Eternal Side-Eye says:

      Sadly they’re not being sold to the public, but perhaps if enough people email Mattel about their desire to have one?

    • Imo says:

      Mattel is reaping the PR gold for doing this but not making the doll available to little girls. This is disengenuous and tacky, imo.

      • The Eternal Side-Eye says:

        @me

        For what you asked me above I think imo’s comment probably explains it best. I was never a doll fan but I do like the Monster High dolls and I’d absolutely buy this Zendaya doll. I’m not happy it’s not available to the public and I want to purchase it. I’m hoping enough people complaining will encourage them to do so.

  16. me says:

    demi is just still insecure about her body, this is not the first time she is coming to zendaya, the last time zendaya’s dad said something about it, plus her saying she want to model a barbie with true size measurement is disrespectful as hell considered that zendaya’s doll was made with her body proportions. I am still waiting for the moment that she starts practicing her own speach about body acceptance and stop body shaming others girls, she is so corny and annoying at this point and nicky needs to have several seats she is si desperate.

  17. snowflake says:

    That’s why I don’t like Nicki, she always makes everything about herself. Why couldn’t she have just congratulated zendaya? Same for demi.

  18. Layla says:

    Nicky’s face is utterly punchable.

  19. Mar says:

    As a mother of a 7 year old girl, Zendaya is and has been in my home for many years and she’s very popular here! Love her

  20. Marianne says:

    I agree its bad timing on both parts. Demi could have waited (instead of immediately after Zendaya’s news). And Nicki could have simply congratulated her. If she felt the need to mention her barbie she could have put something like “Hey Congrats, now we’re barbie twins” or something like that. I feel like that would have lessened the blow then starting off with the “Hey did you know I also have one…”.

  21. AlmondJoy says:

    Nicki… No. Just no. GET OVER YOURSELF. You are about 15 years older than Zendaya and you’re not able to show even half the maturity she has. Instead of congratulating Zendaya and being genuinely happy for her, Nicki made it all about her. That’s like if my friend got married and I posted a pic of my own wedding and said “Congrats on getting married, but did you know that a few years back, I also got married?” So ridiculous.

    I’m glad that people were going IN on Nicki for this in her comment section. She deserved it.

    • The Eternal Side-Eye says:

      This tho. I admit I have a bad habit in actually liking Nicki sometimes but even I read that comment of her’s and did an immediate side-eye and snort. Really boo boo? Did she ‘know’ you had a Barbie doll too? Girl, that’s not what it’s about. Humble yourself and act your age and if not that then at least your hip/butt measurements.

      • Marty says:

        All of this. The first part of that comment was totally unnecessary.

      • AlmondJoy says:

        Agreed! I’m guilty of taking of for Nicki as well, especially because I think she gets alot of unnecessary hate. She absolutely deserves it in this instance. She’s only thinking about SELF.

        “Act your age and if not then act your hip/butt measurements” had me dead πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Exactly, Almond Joy! The wedding analogy was spot on.

    • I Choose Me says:

      Perfectly stated. Nicki gets major side eye from me for that self-serving tweet.

    • funcakes says:

      I can’t believe I’m typing this but here it is:
      I honestly think they were sincere in congratulating Z about her Barbie.
      For once Niki was being sweet. Poor Demi was trying to make a point while going for humour. I would have left the tweet and If people misconstrued it, tough sh@t!

    • Emily C. says:

      +1, AlmondJoy. The picture of her own doll is what sends it into bad territory for me.

    • Pinetree13 says:

      Exactly! Everything you said! Honestly it reminded me of when I praise my younger child for something my older child is always “…but look I’m doing the same thing but better!” In a bid to get the attention away from my youngest. In other simpler words, it’s a little childish.

  22. Lucy says:

    Ok, Nicki wasn’t THAT bad, but Demi needs to take a seat. And of course, Z’s a gem. Love the doll too!

    • Alana says:

      I agree. Nicki’s comment was attention grabbing but ended in good spirit and showing love to Zendaya . Lovato keeps annoying me more and more. All she seems to talk about is her “amaaaaazing bf” and how she is confident in her body ( I don’t buy it btw).
      If that guy leaves her she will fall apart. The ” true to size measurements” is also annoying ,there are skinny women out there , they are real, Zendaya is one of them.

  23. Jayna says:

    I don’t think either one gets a pass. Nicki posting her doll was making it all about her. That was very tacky. And congratulating her first doesn’t make it better. Instead it was a segue used to post a photo of her own Barbie Ugh.

    Demi couldn’t even let Zendaya have her moment, instead jumping off and starting in on her platform pitching for a Barbie doll for a fuller girl, namely her, apparently. Tacky also.

    What’s wrong with these women?

    • Neah23 says:

      Yes Demi problem wasn’t about them making a curvy doll, she just wants her own mini me doll. which shows how truly jealous she is of Zendaya which is why she could congratulate her.

  24. Veronica says:

    I can handle Nicki’s because there may be a certain level of “f*ck yeah, dolls for black girls!” in there. Demi Lovato needs to sit the hell down, though. I find it very telling that she can be as abrasive and provocative as Minaj and doesn’t get half the flak for it.

  25. Josefa says:

    Everything Nicki does and says is to get attention. It’s her (and many others’) way of staying relevant in the industry.

  26. Kelly says:

    Frankly they are both obnoxious. That Zendaya doll is adorable. It actually looks like her.

  27. The Eternal Side-Eye says:

    That doll is so pretty! I remember when they used to do celebrity based dolls in the 90’s how much the dolls would rarely look anything like the celebrity (or even cute for that matter) but this one is so gorgeous.

    Congratulations to Zendaya and thank you to Mattell for recognizing the variety of black women and trying to make small steps to give them equal representation. As a child my Father wouldn’t let me buy any doll that wasn’t black, as a kid I pouted but as I’m older now I realize the message is that why should I support markets that won’t support me or don’t consider me worth selling too? It was an excellent lesson and I thank my Dad for being so wise.

  28. nicegirl says:

    Am going to Toys R Us to find Zendaya Barbie today! I have two little nieces who will love her!

  29. FingerBinger says:

    It’s a doll. Everything is a debate or an argument these days.

  30. Bridget says:

    Demi was on a local radio station years back, and she apparently was so obnoxious that they still reference it to this day. She’s tried to imply that her past bad behavior was solely because of her drug abuse, but it seems like she’s just a jerk, sober or not.

  31. Corrie says:

    I admit this was weird. I can’t tell if its an age thing, where these young girls don’t know how to not be selfish and not self important or that envious. So petty. Also i’m so confused here… Barbie has done other POC dolls & Bob Mackie designer dolls right?

  32. me says:

    I went to India 6 years ago. They had an Indian Barbie, with Sari, bindi, and all. I bought it for my niece. It was not a knock off but a real Barbie. It was just never sold outside of India for some reason. What a shame.

  33. Tiffany :) says:

    So this thread has me going down Barbie memory lane. Does anyone remember Barbie and the Rockers?

    “Rockin’ out, we’re totally in the groove! With Dana, Dee Dee, Derek and Diva too! “

  34. ashley says:

    i mean, demi does have a point. zendaya literally has the body of the original barbie lol

  35. Lily says:

    I am older than Zendaya (by 15 years) and I had a few African American Barbies – still have them. I am not sure why Zendaya wasn’t able to find any Barbies that looked similar to her???

    • Original T.C. says:

      +1
      I too had Black Barbies and Black dolls from other companies so I think Nicki was trying to point that out too in her own self-absorbed way. Maybe Zee’s point is that there aren’t any Biracial dolls vs. 100% Black dolls? The doll is very pretty and looks just like her. Tacky on Demi and her “can I get a Barbie modeled after me too!”.

  36. Corey says:

    Both the Barbies are beautiful. Off topic I never warmed to Demi she seems like someone who will say and do anything to keep herself famous. It’s desperate

  37. claire says:

    Nikki is so lame and fake. She acts like she’s all about empowerment and confidence but she’s thirsty as hell, makes everything about her and never can share the spotlight. She’s just plain desperate. And she full on admits encouraging Meek to go after Drake. She’s so thirsty.

  38. Dania says:

    They are both very self-absorbed.

  39. Argirl says:

    She used “apart” instead of “a part.” Totally changed the meaning.

  40. Otaku Fairy says:

    I didn’t think Nicki’s comment was that bad. Demi has a valid point, but that was the wrong time for her to make it. I don’t think either of them were deliberately trying to take away from Zendaya, even though they did make it about themselves. Technically there was already a ‘demi’ doll, but it was either her camp rock or Sonny with a chance character and had the typical Barbie proportions. But this doll is pretty, even though the goddess face mold would have looked more like Zendaya.