Nicki Minaj Is Stirring Things Up For World Politics and World Social Climate
By Kathryn Sohm
Nicki Minaj is used to being in the spotlight, whether it’s about her mixtapes making chart history, or sharing rare pics of her baby. Lately, the rapper has been in the headlines for another reason entirely.
After tweeting about her decision not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on September 13, Minaj has received a lot of mixed feedback. The tweet stated a cousin’s friend in Trinidad became infertile after getting vaccinated, causing some of her fans, “The Barbz,” to criticize her for spreading misinformation. Others, like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, have praised Minaj for speaking out.
When Minaj shared a clip from Carlson’s show, Twitter became even more enraged, calling him a “white nationalist.” She tweeted back in defense of her actions: “Right. I can’t speak to, agree with, even look at someone from a particular political party. Ppl aren’t human any more. If you’re black & a Democrat tells you to shove marbles up ur ass, you simply have to. If another party tells u to look out for that bus, stand there & get hit.”
Her claim about the vaccine’s link to infertility became such a hot topic that Dr. Anthony Fauci himself has stepped in, stating that “there’s no evidence that it happens.” The health minister of Trinidad and Tobago also weighed in, saying two days after the Tweet an investigation found the claim to be false.
Though Minaj said she will get the vaccine before going on tour, it hasn’t saved her from scrutiny. Now, Minaj is speaking out against “cancel culture” and has related it to China’s suppression of free speech.
“I remember going to China and they were telling us you cannot speak out against the people in power there, et cetera, and I remember all of us thinking, oh, ok, we understand and we respect the laws here and that it’s so different from where we live,” she said in an Instagram Live.
“But don’t y’all see what’s fucking happening? Don’t y’all see that we are living now in that time, where people will turn their back on you for not agreeing? People will isolate you if you simply speak and ask a question.”
Along with justifying her choice to question the government, Minaj has claimed that she was censored by Twitter after posting about the vaccine. However, Twitter told The Daily Beast: “Twitter did not take any enforcement action on the account referenced.”