--- title: "Nicki Minaj Fans Are Using AI to Create “Gag City”" description: "Fans anxiously awaiting the release of Nicki Minaj's latest album have occupied themselves with AI to create their own \"Gag City.\"" date: "2023-12-07" modified: "2023-12-07" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nicki-minaj-ai-gag-city" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "bing" - "image generators" - "nicki minaj" - "the digest" --- # Nicki Minaj Fans Are Using AI to Create “Gag City” ![Fans anxiously awaiting the release of Nicki Minaj's latest album have occupied themselves with AI to create their own "Gag City."]() *\Image: thatsso\_chloe via X\* ## Gag City Fans are anxiously awaiting the drop of Onika "Nicki Minaj" Maraj-Petty's "[Pink Friday 2]()" — and in the meantime, they've occupied themselves with artificial intelligence image generators to create visions of a Minajian utopia known as "Gag City." The entire "Gag City" gambit began with zealous (and perhaps *overzealous*) fans tweeting at the Queens-born diva to tell her how excited — or "[gagged]()," to use the drag scene etymology that spread among Maraj-Petty's LGBTQ and queer-friendly fanbase — they are for her first album in [more than five years](). Replete with [dispensaries](), [burger joints](), and a [high-rise shopping mall](), Gag City has everything a Barb (as fans call themselves) could ask for. https://twitter.com/PopCrave/status/1732462476963328482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1732462476963328482%7Ctwgr%5Ec44a58ddcc53b14de8c90c4b97ac386a9acc2a9c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thepinknews.com%2F2023%2F12%2F07%2Fnicki-minaj-gag-city%2F ## Barbz Hug As memetic lore will have you believe, these tributes to Meraj-Petty were [primarily created]() with Microsoft's Bing AI image generator. The meme went so deep that people began claiming that her fanbase generating Gag City imagery [caused Bing to crash](), which allegedly led to the image generator [blocking Nicki Minaj-related prompts](). https://twitter.com/AClDBLEEDER/status/1732526240588873921 When *Futurism* took to Bing's image creator AI to see what all the fuss was about, we too discovered that you couldn't search for anything related to Minaj. However, the same was true when we inputted other celebrities' names as well, suggesting that Bing, [like Google](), may intentionally block the names of famous people in an apparent effort to circumvent deepfakes. ## Brand Opportunities As creative as these viral Gag City images have been, it was only a matter of time before [engagement-hungry brands]() tried to get in on the fun and effectively ruin it. From Spotify changing its location to the imaginary Barb metropolis and introducing "[Gag City]()" as a new "sound town" to KFC's social media manager telling users to "[DM]()" the account, the meme has provided a hot pink branding free-for-all. The Bing account itself even posted a pretty excellent-looking AI-generated Gag City image. https://twitter.com/bing/status/1732486318855254184 Sleazy brand bandwagoning aside, the Gag City meme and its many interpretations provide an interesting peek into what the future of generative AI may hold in a world dominated by [warring fandoms]() and [overhyped automation](). **More on AI imagination**: [*People Cannot Stop Dunking on that Uncanny “AI Singer-Songwriter”*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()