Celebrities need to be more cautious with the products that are attached to their names.

This past November, Nicki Minaj released a lyric video for her new song, Only. Shortly after the video was published Minaj came under fire, as many believed the video to be chock-full of content that looks like it belongs in Nazi Germany. Those accusations definitely hold weight. A brief look at the video reveals everything from banners that resemble those that could be found in Germany during the height of Nazism, to guns, gasmasks, and warplanes.

It should be acknowledged right off that Minaj isn’t responsible for the video. She didn’t do anything to offend anyone and shouldn’t be on the receiving end of any hate for the Third Reich visuals. Once questioned about the video, she was quick to apologize on Twitter and clarified that it wasn’t of her intention to alienate any portion of her fan base. The director of the video took full responsibility for its content and, not only did he not apologize for it, but he actually defended it (on MySpace, no less.)

The director of the video, Jeff Osborne, confirmed that the video is heavily influenced by Nazism in his post, and claims that he incorporated the horrific regime into the video in order to keep it fresh in the minds of the younger generations. He believes the video isn’t deserving of the reaction it has gotten and trivializes the controversy with, “So if my work is misinterpreted because it’s not a sappy tearjerker, sorry I’m not sorry. What else is trending?”

People make bad decisions, and celebrities are no different. The only difference between us and them is who’s watching when we slip up. If we mess up, we may get laughed or yelled at, and it can ruin our day, but if something like this happens to someone famous, it can be severely detrimental to their image. A number of celebrities, including stars, athletes, political figures, and more have lost their jobs and images to scandal. Some of them deserve it, others don’t. The Only video is upsetting to some, but it isn’t anything threatening to Minaj. However, it should serve as a wake-up call for her. When your career can end due to a single poor choice, leaving some guy who still uses MySpace to make a video that will forever be attached to your name without looking at it before it’s released is lacking in foresight.

The only thing Nicki Minaj should be criticized for is mismanagement of her image. She is one of the biggest stars in the world, and with that, comes immense levels of scrutiny. Anything she does is going to be looked over by millions of people, and not all of them are fans. Many people, whom we affectionately refer to as “haters,” are looking for a reason to dislike Minaj, and things like this give them all the reason they need. So maybe give things a quick once-over before you release them to the world from now on. Oh, and don’t work with Jeff Osborne anymore. He made a Jewish guy the Pope in a video full of Nazi imagery.