Nicki Minaj is addressing critics who took on her COVID-19 vaccine claims in 2021, together with {that a} good friend of a member of the family in Trinidad developed “swollen testicles” after getting the shot.
In a December cowl story for Vogue, the Grammy-winning rapper opened up about motherhood, returning to music together with her latest album Pink Friday 2, and the stresses of high-profile fame. Through the dialogue, Minaj briefly addressed her criticized social media statements, which included her posting an alleged expertise from an unnamed good friend of a cousin.
“My cousin in Trinidad gained’t get the vaccine cuz his good friend obtained it & grew to become impotent,” she wrote on X, which on the time was referred to as Twitter. “His testicles grew to become swollen. His good friend was weeks away from getting married, now the woman known as off the marriage. So simply pray on it & be sure you’re comfy with ur resolution, not bullied.”
Minaj would later add that she really helpful others get the vaccine earlier than encouraging folks to “put on the masks with 2 strings that grips your head & face. Not that free one.” However that preliminary tweet would garner consideration throughout social media and inside the bigger media ecosystem, with the likes of MSNBC’s Pleasure-Ann Reid, The Late Present‘s Stephen Colbert and then-Day by day Present host Trevor Noah all responding to her assertion or the encircling controversy.
It additionally garnered a response from Trinidad and Tobago’s Well being Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, who in a public assertion on the time mentioned there have been “completely no reported such negative effects or adversarial occasion of testicular swelling in Trinidad” just like the one Minaj described.
“I’m a type of individuals who doesn’t go together with a crowd,” Minaj instructed the journal whereas reflecting on that point in 2021. “I wish to make my very own evaluation of every part with out assist from everybody.”
The chart-topping rapper additionally elaborated on why she hasn’t gotten extra instantly political, together with endorsing candidates, regardless of having shared her stances on abuses of energy by legislation enforcement and common well being care.
“Each time I discuss politics, folks get mad,” she mentioned. “I’m sorry, however I’m not going to be instructed who I ought to get on social media and marketing campaign for. There’s rather a lot we don’t know that’s occurring within the authorities, and I don’t assume it adjustments whether or not you lean to the left or proper.”
