Monster Shoes: With a Site-Crashing Appearance on Nicki Minaj, Are We Destined to Spend Another Season in Crocs?

If you’re one of the tribe known as the Barbz, you already know Nicki Minaj is about to make it another Pink Friday. As previously reported by The Root, the rapper was once again thinking pink on Monday as she coquettishly posed atop a pink-quilted desk in an office straight out of “Barbie Dreams”—a Chanel-loving Barbie, that is—adorned with nothing but two heart-shaped pink pillows, plenty of ice, and...hot pink Crocs?

Was it a sign of yet another celebrity Crocs collaboration in the works? The “Anaconda” rapper is the latest in a long line of well-known faces to sport the comfort-centric clog—which some have branded the shoe of the pandemic. Justin Bieber and Bad Bunny have been among the brand’s recent celebrity ambassadors, while Questlove showed off the gold pair he wore for his 2021 Oscars DJ-ing gig, captioning a post: “I became a believer in quarantine last year when I decided [I’m] tired of suffering while stunting. Comfort first at this stage in my life.”

I mean, I’d be lying if I said these feet are ready to revisit my extensive collection of stilettos...but unlike my Very Smart Brotha Panama Jackson, Crocs remain a bridge too far for my personal aesthetic. (No shade, but...shade.) However, I’m clearly in the minority, as Page Six Style notes that “Crocs have become somewhat of a staple shoe during the pandemic, with stocks soaring and the company pulling in record amounts of revenue.”

So is Minaj poised to pull in some revenue of her own with the brand—customized in true Queen style with blinged-out Jibbitz, including the classic Chanel double-C—or simply leaning into her rose-colored version of a more relaxed, pandemic-era lifestyle? The mystery remains unsolved, but as Page Six reported on Tuesday, “Minaj’s appearance reportedly caused a 4,900% spike in sales of pink Crocs specifically, and even crashed the retailer’s website.”

Now, that’s what we call a monster shoe.

As of now, there have been no announcements of a formal collaboration between the rapper and the rubberized brand, but we’d say her work here is already done...and that Crocs aren’t going anywhere for the foreseeable future. *shakes fist at the sky* By Tuesday, Minaj was back in heels—and back in her signature pose, teasing lyrics and sparking rumors of a celebrity collab of another sort. Hopefully, all will be revealed this Pink Friday.