Taylor Swift apologizes to Nicki Minaj: ‘I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke’

Taylor Swift -- never one to bask in prolonged negative attention -- has relented to rapper Nicki Minaj after interjecting and missing the point of the “Anaconda� rapper’s epic Twitter rant following the release of the 2015 MTV Video Music Award nominees earlier this week.

“I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke. I’m sorry, Nicki,� the 25-year-old tweeted Thursday morning.

To that, the emcee replied: “That means so much Taylor, thank you,� later adding, “I’ve always loved her. Everyone makes mistakes. She gained so much more respect from me. Let’s move on.�

Minaj, who felt snubbed that her booty-shaking music video for “Anaconda� was overlooked in the video of the year and choreography categories, took to Twitter on Monday to unleash fury over the exclusion. She blasted the music industry for diminishing the contributions of female African American artists and perpetuating the stereotype that in order to succeed, an artist must glorify slim bodies.

Since Minaj praised Beyonce in her rant and the only other woman nominated in the category was industry darling Swift, the young singer believed that Minaj had been calling her and her gal-pal heavy “Bad Blood� video out in the diatribe. The rapper refuted that, telling her she was addressing the bigger picture. The exchange took Twitter by storm and brought global attention to Minaj’s words -- and that of numerous celebrities, including Swift’s purported frenemy Katy Perry. (More on that in a bit.)

“If I was a different ‘kind’ of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well,� Minaj wrote to her more than 19.8 million followers about her NSFW music video.

The 32-year-old capped the initial tirade with: “If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year.�

In response to that tweet, Swift replied, “@NICKIMINAJ I’ve done nothing but love & support you. It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot.�

To add insult to injury, the “Style� singer piled on with this patronizing tweet: “@NICKIMINAJ If I win, please come up with me!! You’re invited to any stage I’m ever on.�

After several more posts, Minaj crystallized her argument -- the big one she believed Swift missed -- in an Instagram post.

“Nothing to do with any of the women, but everything to do with a system that doesn’t credit black women for their contributions to pop culture as freely/quickly as they reward others,� the former “American Idol� judge wrote. “We are huge trendsetters, not second class citizens that get thrown crumbs. This isn’t anger. This is #information. It’s all love to MTV. Kisses to my fans and thank you for my 3 nominations.�

The high-profile debacle captured the attention of fans and celebrities alike, including video of the year nominees Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran. Mars attempted to strike up a feud of his own with Sheeran, which the singer-songwriter quickly put the kibosh on.

Perry, who is the rumored subject of Swift’s “Bad Blood,� also weighed in, saying that she found it ironic “to parade the pit women against other women argument� while “one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman.� The “Roar� singer earned Minaj’s stamp of approval and also noted that the day’s major snub went to Rihanna’s video for “Bitch Better Have My Money,� which was iced out of the nominees.

“The real travesty is where is the shine for #BBHMMVideo when VMA eligibility period was 7/7/14-7/1/15 & that gem dropped 7/1... @MTV,� she tweeted.

But we still have a few burning questions now are: How is MTV going to turn this fracas into a viral moment during the Aug. 9 show? And can we expect to see Swift tap Minaj for a future friendly collabo?

Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.