Jeff Osborne, the director of Nicki Minaj's controversial "Only" lyric video, said he will not issue an apology for his offensive work, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Osborne, who also worked on Minaj's "Anaconda" video, spoke to MySpace to address the controversy his latest project has been surrounded with. He gave a disclaimer that his views do not reflect those of Minaj, Chris Brown, Drake and Lil Wayne and was adamant that he was not going to apologize.
"I'm not apologizing for my work, nor will I dodge the immediate question," Osborne said. "The flags, armbands, and gas mask (and perhaps my use of symmetry?) are all representative of Nazism."
He then mentioned how there were also other factors in the video that were American, like the SWAT uniform, the Lincoln Memorial and the Supreme court.
He also clarified that the work was not a way to glorify Nazism. "I think it's actually important to remind younger generations of atrocities that occurred in the past as a way to prevent them from happening in the future," he explained. "And the most effective way of connecting with people today is through social media and pop culture."
He added, "So if my work is misinterpreted because it's not a sappy tearjerker, sorry I'm not sorry."
Minaj went a different direction, however, and earlier issued an apology via Twitter, saying: "I didn't come up w/ the concept, but I'm very sorry & take full responsibility if it has offended anyone. I'd never condone Nazism in my art."
She also added that the person in charge for overseeing the making of the lyric video is Jewish and that Osborne, the artist, was influenced by the cartoon "Metalocalypse" and Sin City.
The "Only" lyric video received flak from many, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a not-for-profit organization fighting against anti-Semitism. ADL National Director and Holocaust survivor Abraham H. Foxman issued a statement regarding their disapproval of the video on November 11.
"This video is insensitive to Holocaust survivors and a trivialization of the history of that era," Foxman said. "The abuse of Nazi imagery is deeply disturbing and offensive to Jews and all those who can recall the sacrifices Americans and many others had to make as a result of [Adolf] Hitler's Nazi juggernaut."
