Rapper Nicki Minaj took part in a puzzling Instagram Live on Tuesday night after claiming she was suspended from Twitter for a post claiming that her cousin’s friend in Trinidad and Tobago was becoming powerless and suffering from swollen testicles afterwards. to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
“I’ve been suspended from Twitter,” he said, for a shot of what appeared to be an apartment roof. “Twitter, a place where people say the most horrible things every day.”
The Trinidadian-born artist has repeatedly stated that he did not “give any details” about the vaccine and that he was simply “asking questions”, although his claims were denied by the government of Trinidad and Tobago in early Wednesday. The country’s health ministry said it found no evidence that any patients had reported the symptoms Minaj described, in Trinidad or elsewhere.
“As we stand now, there are no side effects or adverse events of testicular swelling in Trinity,” Terrence Deyalsingh, the country’s health minister, said during a press conference. “And none of which we know anywhere in the world,” he added.
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Deyalsingh also said he regretted that the agency spent “so much time” checking Minaj’s facts, although he claimed that Trinidad and Tobago takes “seriously all these claims”, especially those that go viral on social media. .
“Unfortunately, yesterday we wasted so much time appealing this false statement,” he said.
Twitter discussed Minaj’s characterization on Wednesday night, with a spokesman telling Vulture, “Twitter did not take any enforcement action on the account referred to.”
Minaj also claimed to have received an invitation to the White House on Wednesday, although the Biden administration also denied the statement, saying it only offered him a phone call with a doctor to explain the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines. .
“As we have done with other people, we offered a call with Nicki Minaj and one of our doctors to answer their questions about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine,” a White House official said. said Bloomberg.
The “Super Bass” singer faced a strong reaction for her original tweet on Monday, which said:
“My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine because her friend got it and became helpless. Her testicles swelled. Her friend was a few weeks away from getting married, now the girl canceled the wedding”.
He also told more than 22 million followers to “pray for it and make sure you’re comfortable with your decision, don’t be intimidated.”
In a previous Tweet that kicked off the entire news cycle, Minaj said he had skipped the 2021 Met Gala due to the vaccination requirement of the event.
His vaccine skepticism garnered praise from an unlikely source: right-wing media.
Fox News chief host Tucker Carlson highlighted Minaj’s tweet during a Monday segment, saying they looked “sensible.” The channel’s chyron even said, “NICKI MINAJ: KITCHEN’S TESTISES ARE IGNITED,” even though the original tweet had claimed that of her cousin of friend the testicles had swelled.
During her appearance on Instagram Live, Minaj acknowledged the humor of an entire news cycle dedicated to the size of her cousin’s friend’s genitals.
“It’s been a lot of fun, I won’t lie.”
But later, he compared having anti-vaccine opinions in 2021 to being black in America under segregation, saying, “You’re forgetting that there was a time not too long ago when [Black Americans] could you not even make eye contact with people and agree? “
At one point, Minaj even said she didn’t plan to return to the platform that had censored her.
“I will never use Twitter again,” he said. “That’s scary.”
You can watch the full video on YouTube:
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include a Twitter spokesperson comment.