Normani‘s latest single, ‘Wild Side,’ has been deemed a winner by many, a feat underscored by its initial sales performance on digital and streaming outlets.
But while some laud the Tanu Muino-directed music video for its eye-popping visuals and high octane choreography, others have argued the visual is damaging to queer progression – even suggesting it intentionally straddles the line of pandering to heterosexual male fantasies and promoting performative lesbianism to bait members of the LGBT community who identify as such.
The song’s GRAMMY-winning featured artist, Cardi B, contests the notion and took to Twitter to hit back at the claims. Look inside to see what she said:
Friday (July 23), ‘Rolling Stone’ took to print to examine how ‘queerbaiting’ has translated to success for some of music’s most popular artists.
Defining the term as when “a celebrity or a public figure capitalizes on the suspicion that they may be romantically involved with another same-sex person for the sake of publicity, promotion or a capitalistic gain,” the article quotes famed filmmaker Leo Herrera who says the act “plays with our lack of representation and desires to get us in the theaters or get us to watch.”
Among the more recent offenders named were Nick Jonas, Billie Eilish, and Cardi B (courtesy of her role in the Normani music video). Look below to see her response to the inclusion:
This isn’t the first time Cardi’s been lumped into this kind of accusation.
In 2018, she issued an apology after fans slammed ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ – her song with Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, and others – for ‘minimizing’ and ‘exploiting’ lesbianism, using offensive terms, and more. Click here to revisit that story.
🥱🥱🥱
Cardi trying to use controversy to sell this boring f******* song.
Stfu she responded to rolling stone coming after her what Camilla gonna do now that her flop single falling on iTunes already and video didn’t even do 3 million first day worry about that stupid ass annoying ass punk
Camilla has 54 million Instagram followers and couldn’t get in the top 5 on iTunes after practically giving that flop song away for 69 cents yet you keep saying normani flopped lmao and all those followers and she didn’t even get 3 million views on YouTube pathetic
others have argued the visual is damaging to q**** progression – even suggesting it intentionally straddles the line of pandering to heterosexual male fantasies by promoting performative lesbianism to bait members of the LGBT community who identify as such.
I don’t even understand what that means.
F u c k off! Marilyn mon b I t c h💅🏿 U ain’t real. U are such a useless, narcissistic c u n t🤳🏻
So Cardi B is concerned about talking about uncomfortable things but she’s fine rapping about her W. A. P. and guys jiizzzing all over her?
And queerbaiting isn’t a new word. It’s been around for two decades. She exploits performative lesbianism for profit and thinks she won’t be called out? She’s just exposing how ignorant she is. It’s not the job of the LGBT community to educate her on why she’s exploitive just like it’s not black people’s job to educate white people on racism.
Her whole act is wearing thin.
Cardi is openly bisexual so…there’s that. And it doesn’t matter if queerbating been around since the beginning of time, y’all have certainly just started using it as it has become more popular recently. And the same could said about closeted celebrities pandering heterosexual men and women in the spotlight just to be gay in reality. It goes both ways, not just when the LGBT community wants to bıtch and moan, like always❗
I like Cardi but you were spot on with the queerbaiting stuff
They were hoping this video was gonna be huge like WAP but it didnt do anything.
The song puts everyone to sleep.
Normani looks sad in the video like they are forcing her to do things she dont wanna do.
Girl, shut the fück up❗You’ve been watching the video every hour on the hour since it was released, tracking its views and streams so obviously they caught your attention and held it. You’ve talked about Normanis video more than Camillas Latin atrocity with her doing Gorilla callings in kitten heels.
SCREAMING 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣💯🤳🏽
C******* #21 on YouTube trending 😂
Fell out of itunes top 10 after 1 day
Less than 4 million views after almost 2 days. Even Normani IG video got 6.2 million views after 24 hours 😂
I cannot stop laughing.
#3 Youtube trending for Normani. 😂
Most people are here just for Cardi 💅🏿 F******* who? Cardi was just being nice to do some promos for f*******’s song since RCA even didn’t funding for her video 🤣😂🤣😂
Lies.
RCA funded her video. She contributed her own money as well.
Similar to other artists. 😂😂😂😂😂. Nice try though.
Gurl, dont make me pull out those spotify stats
😂😂
Shes already flopping on radio.
Radio is EATING dont ho yet up
5 million audience impressions on the first day
Is that Lil Nas with wig and Cardi B on the pic? Wow they look like they are trying to be s***
Screaming 😂😂😂😂
😂🤣😂🤣 💀 💀 she wishes she can be lil nas x , not everyone can has #1 💅🏿
Mani #3 Youtube Trending
C******* #20 Youtube Trending
I literally cannot stop laughing. 😂😂😂
A solo song vs a cardi collaboration
😂😂
Cardi Recent collabs
DJ Kahled #76
Migos #86
Mani & Cardi projected top 15 BB debut
A successful collab 😂😂😂😂😂
Girl, EVERY Camilla hit is a feature, let’s NOT try to play the feature game. You spent all last year clinging to a deluxe edition feature that your fav attached to her album after months and her own singles flopping. Even Da Babby couldn’t help her at his peak. Go watch Camilla do her Gorilla falling in her great aunts kitten heels.
How many times are we gonna do this?
Never be the same, a solo song
– peaked at number 6
Outpeaked normani’s entire discography
Here comes the “it had a remix”
If the remix was more popular than the original version billboard would have credited kane brown but they didn’t.
It’s like clock work
Go back to Twitter and cry
😂😂
Love lies was a feature and it had a remix
Dancing with a stranger had several dance remixes
Motivation had a remix with 21 savage
Wild side features cardi
Normani has no solo hit
I literally cannot stop laughing. This is with TTH and multiple Spotify placements day of release
“Don’t Go Yet” by @Camila_Cabello debuts at #36 on the daily US Spotify chart with 526,926 streams.
Will this even debut in the top 50?
😂😂😂
A SOLO SONG did that
😂😂😂
Normani cant relate.
C******* had a radio deal the week of release but her iTunes, Youtube, Spotify , Apple Music numbers are not backing it up.
Radio will drop it after. I literally cannot stop laughing at this karma
Less than 4 million views after almost 2 days 😂😂😂😂😂
Lots of people are doing the Mani choreography
I guess the Jackie Chan moves did the trick 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Is anyone mimicking CaMonkeys Choreo?
😂😂😂 I literally cannot stop laughing.
C******* Spotify placements day of release
#13 on TTH
#2 on NMF + cover
#5 on Hot Hits Australia + cover
#1 on Hot Hits Canada + cover
#10 on Hot Hits USA
#3 It’s Hits Norway
#16 It’s Hits Sweden
#1 Pop Rising
#12 Pop Up
top3 in all NMF playlists
#5 just hits
We love the payola girl. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
All those playlists and big performance w 500k streams for US?
YouTube ITunes flopping. 😂
The public said no.
Why are u crying too much.
😂😂😂
Dont go yet is a SOLO song
“Don’t Go Yet” by Camila Cabello debuts at #34 on the daily global Spotify chart with 1,963,040 streams.
A SOLO SONG
A SOLO song that is going to flop.
We love to see it.
You’re crying because you spoke too soon
Now C******* is the one who may not get a top 50 debut. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Those YouTube & US Spotify numbers are p*** poor 😂😂😂 with all the promo (playlisting. Huge tv performance)
Ur comparing a cardi collaboration with a Camila cabello SOLO SONG
The solo song still outstreamed globally, so now what? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Dont go yet ( A SOLO SONG)
1.9 million streams
Number 34 😌
1st day of release
Wild side feat cardi
1.4 million –
number 72
1st day of release
😂💀
I literally cannot stop laughing. 😂😂😂
Another Huge Service Apple Music:
Mani #18
C******* not in top 100
I really can’t stop laughing. 😅😂😂
Flopping on iTunes, Apple Music, YouTube , Instagram videos
Radio will drop after they see the numbers
Dummy
You’re still comparing a cardi feature with a solo song
Dont go yet
1.9 million streams
Released 24 hours ago
Senorita
971k streams
Released 2 years ago
———–BARRIER——–
Normani wild side feat cardi
889k streams
Released 7 days ago
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂💀💀
Rollingstone published articles celebrating WAP but now has a problem with “Wild Side”. One is no different from the other, so what is their agenda?
Normonkey is a FLOP!
Let these two women bump their p****** in peace!! I loved it when they got rained on after all of that rubbin…
Creamy and wet.