Nicki Minaj "may be" engaged to Hip-hop artist Meek Mill.
Apparently she posted a picture on Instagram of an enormous heart-shaped ring on her ring finger. However, no one quite knows what to make of it, as she has not confirmed or denied anything. There are the usual "anonymous tippers close to the source" but nothing solid to confirm or deny whether she and Mill are truly engaged.
For years I turned the other way when celebrities seemed to be "engaged" (haha) in publicity stunts. In more recent times, I have become quite interested due to the way these stunts are great examples of what could be called unilateral commodification.
In this case, Minaj is (or maybe is not) sending out messages about her relationships in an attempt to get people to connect with (or at least think about) her. Sharing messages about your personal relationships with others can be very decommodifying--it presents your interpersonal, human side, over your "money making side". Celebrities are frequently trying to decommodify themselves. They don't want to be seen as just a money making "product".
In fact, several years ago, I remember Martha Stewart giving an interview around the time she had gone to prison. She kept emphasizing that there are two Martha Stewarts--Martha Stewart the brand (the marketable, commodified Martha Stewart) and Martha Stewart the person (the real, decommodified Martha with human feelings and characteristics). It was a very obvious manifestation of the attempt of well-known figures to keep themselves humanized and decommodified.
In the case of Martha Stewart, it seemed a sincere observation that celebrities are people too--they have human thoughts and feelings and so forth (although in the years since, she has apparently attempted to merge her personal identity with that of her brand). However, in some cases, it appears that celebrities are trying to sort of "manufacture" a decommodified appearance in the eyes of their fans. It is one-sided decommodification. The real attempt is to remain popular in order to keep making money, but they do so by giving of an "I'm just like you" or some other humanizing vibe.
Celebrities, unilateral decommodification and publicity stunts.
We often hear of "publicity" stunts by celebs. Perhaps not all of them are attempts to decommodify the celebrity's image. But this shows us yet another possible application for commodification that can be found all around us.
As for Nicki--only time will tell if she is actually engaged, or merely "engaged" in a unilaterally decommodifying publicity stunt!
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