Back in 2021, the 'Barbie World' raptress made headlines when she was accused of spreading misinformation about the novel virus amid the global pandemic.
- Nov 10, 2023
AceShowbiz - Nicki Minaj revisited her controversy surrounding her claims about COVID-19 vaccine back in 2021. In a new interview for her Vogue December cover story, which was published on Thursday, November 9, the Trinidadian star stood by her claims despite the backlash.
"I'm one of those people who doesn't go with a crowd," the "Barbie World" raptress told the magazine. The star also noted, "I like to make my own assessment of everything without help from everyone."
Two years ago, Nicki made headlines when she was accused of spreading misinformation about the novel virus amid the global pandemic. At the time, Nicki wrote on Twitter, now X, that she would skip the 2021 Met Gala because she hadn't been vaccinated, which was mandatory for the guests.
"My cousin in Trinidad won't get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent," the hip-hop star tweeted at the time. "His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you're comfortable with ur decision, not bullied."
Her tweet quickly sparked debate with Trinidad and Tobago Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh debunking the claims. "One of the reasons why we could not respond yesterday in real-time to Miss Minaj is that we had to check and make sure that what she was claiming was either true or false. Unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim," Deyalsingh said.
It was also said that in response to Nicki's tweet, the Caribbean nation's authorities launched an investigation. However, they couldn't find anyone with swollen testicles due to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Anthony Fauci also echoed the sentiment, telling CNN, "I'm not blaming her for anything - but she should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis as except a one-off anecdote. That's not what science is all about."
In addition to online backlash, Nicki shared that she was put in "Twitter jail" due to her tweet. "They didn't like what I was saying over there on that block I guess," the mom of one penned on Instagram Story. "Asking questions is OK. I like being fkng dumb then boom. Can't tweet."
