A Look Back At Sarah Palin's Twitter Drama With Azealia Banks

The year was 2016, and political tensions were high as reality star Donald Trump was gunning for the presidential seat. His bid for the White House attracted support from plenty of fellow Republicans, including former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin. She endorsed Trump passionately on the campaign trail, which earned Palin several enemies, including the unlikely yet reliably outspoken Azealia Banks. 

The "Luxury" performer did not mince words when voicing her disdain for Palin, launching into a disturbing Twitter rant that is still being talked about today. Banks went off in a barrage of tweets in response to a satirical article that made its rounds across social media. In the sarcastic writing published on a site called Newslo, now known as ​​Politicops, Palin's stance on the African slave trade was twisted in a way that painted her as being extremely racially insensitive. 

Though the website is known for spoofing articles, Banks apparently took their write-up at face value, taking aim at Palin in a viral online attack. And the former governor didn't take it lying down. 

Among the many insults that Azealia Banks hurled at Sarah Palin, one in particular might've sent a quiet gasp through conservatives. The former Parlophone signee accused Palin of having an affair with her friend and confidante, Donald Trump. While the two have never been romantically linked, Palin and Trump have been friends since at least 2008, when she became the running mate of the late Senator John McCain. 

Still, due to her devotion to Trump during his run for president, Banks felt that there might be more going on behind the scenes between them. In two other, more sinister tweets, Banks insinuated that Palin should be sexually assaulted by several men. She even suggested that the acts be filmed and placed online. Banks would later refute that she meant for Palin to be forcibly violated and instead was merely advising her to engage in consensual group sex. 

Unfortunately, the damage had been done, prompting a response from the former governor and her daughter, Bristol Palin, with both women promising that the songwriter would pay for her scandalous comments. Bristol, a former teen mom, was also a subject of Banks' wrath. 

Following the harsh trolling, Sarah Palin initially issued a mild response, even attempting to relate to Azealia Banks. She implied that they should join forces to combat pressing social issues. Naturally, the move shocked supporters of both women. "Why don't we strengthen both our platforms and work together on something worthwhile like condemning racism, along with empowering young women to defend themselves against a most misogynist, degrading, devastating assault perpetrated by evil men — rape," Palin addressed Banks in a Facebook post (via Yahoo!). 

Though these remarks were outwardly mature in nature, Palin wasted no time announcing that she would be taking legal action against Banks. Speaking with People shortly after Banks' shocking tweets were posted, Palin confirmed that she would be hitting back against the Harlem-bred rapper in the courtroom. "​​I'm suing Azealia Banks and can't wait to share my winnings with others who have gone defenseless against lies and dangerous attacks far too long," the politician explained. 

With the threat of a lawsuit looming and upon learning that the Newslo article was untrue, Banks apologized to Palin in a since-deleted Tumblr note. The artist insisted that her remarks were simply crude jokes that Palin's fellow Republicans blew out of proportion. As of 2023, there doesn't seem to have been any lawsuit ever filed. Banks' apology may have sufficed, or Palin may have simply been too busy to pursue litigation. Either way, both women thankfully appear to have moved on.