Image: Instagram/@nickiminaj
LOS ANGELES — As the 2021 Met Gala kicked off in New York City, rapper Nicki Minaj took to Twitter to reveal that she wouldn’t be attending the event because of its COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
“They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. If I get vaccinated it won’t [be] for the Met,” Minaj, who has 22.6 million Twitter followers, wrote. “It’ll be once I feel I’ve done enough research. I’m working on that now. In the meantime my loves, be safe. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grips your head [and] face. Not that loose one.”
Minaj then shared that her cousin isn’t getting vaccinated because “his friend got it [and] became impotent.”
“So just pray on it [and] make sure you’re comfortable with [your] decision, not bullied,” Minaj said.
There has not been any research that has proven that the COVID-19 vaccine and erectile dysfunction are linked, according to the FDA fact sheets for the Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
However, Minaj later tweeted that she will “[be] vaccinated as well cuz I have to go on tour, etc.” She also praised a fan who told her they had been vaccinated and hadn’t contracted the virus, writing: “That’s amazing babe. This is the norm.”
She then asked her fans, “Which vaccine would you recommend?” and shared a poll listing out Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
Minaj’s tweets about the vaccine started when a fan pointed out that her last public appearance was over a year ago. In response, Minaj, who gave birth to her first child last September, wrote: “I have an infant with no nannies during COVID. Who mad? Not risking his health to be seen.”
She then implied that she contracted COVID-19 while prepping for the VMAs, which she did not appear at on Sunday night, as per Variety.
“Do [you] know what it is not to be able to kiss or hold your tiny baby for over a week? A baby who is only used to his mama? ‘get vaccinated’ Drake had just told me he got covid w/ THE VACCINE tho so chile.”
Representatives for Drake did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
When a fan pointed out that the COVID-19 vaccine prevents serious symptoms including death, Minaj responded: “Babe. That’s not true. I had the exact same symptoms as [people] with the damn vaccine.”
COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, with millions of people having received the vaccines “under the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history,” as per CDC. Vaccinated individuals are also far less likely to develop complications or require hospitalization.
In a tweet later in the day, Minaj said that she “cited my young child as why I didn’t want to travel” for the event.
Representatives for Minaj’s label and management did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment. JB
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