Say what you want about Nicki Minaj: The rapper knows how to fan the flames of controversy.
Just call her Miss Information Barbie when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines.
Minaj’s vacant viral tweets to falter this week, mostly her deserved quote from an anecdotal and friend-cousin experience with swollen testicles, made her the topic of cable news and Twitter memes and punchline for in many recent times. night jokes.
Even Trinidadian TV covered it, with a news anchor ridiculing the story about that of his cousin a friend’s “smooth tire.”
The tweets also garnered much criticism, drawing the attention of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Dr. Anthony Fauci. The leading U.S. coronavirus expert quickly denied the notion that the vaccine affects the reproductive system.
Minaj said the beer reaction also prompted Twitter to block his account on Wednesday afternoon, so he continued to think about his Instagram stories, writing that he could no longer tweet and was in “prison of Twitter “because” they didn’t like what I was saying. “
However, the social media platform discusses this.
“Twitter did not take any action to implement the account referred to,” a company spokesman said Wednesday in an email to The Times.
It should be noted that Minaj said he would probably get vaccinated to go on tour and recommended shooting to anyone who needed a punch to keep his job.
In fact, apparently his hesitation had nothing to do with it the friend of his Trinitarian cousin presumed side effects, but with his own experience COVID-19. She said she contracted the disease, which forced her to stay away from her young son, and she doesn’t want to repeat that brutal experience.
Despite his alleged natural immunity, he said he wanted to investigate before inoculating himself.
Unfortunately, this has not been the starting shot of his Twitter viral thread; instead, it was his stance as a citizen researcher and his strange cousin-friendly anecdote.
Monday’s tweet to more than 22 million followers has prompted medical experts to analyze the vaccine conspiracy theory to discredit the misinformation of people with large social media followers.
A Minaj representative did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.
Fauci responded on Tuesday to a question from CNN’s Jake Tapper about whether there was a link between the three vaccines approved in the United States (Modern, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson) and reproductive problems in men or women, “The answer to that, Jake , is a resounding no.
“There is no evidence to happen, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine what would happen,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases added.
“I don’t blame her for anything,” Fauci continued after lamenting COVID-19’s misinformation on social media, “but I should be thinking twice about spreading information that really has no basis.”
CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta said many people have “concomitant problems”: health problems that can appear at the same time as the vaccination, but have nothing to do with the shots. “Vaccines that cause swollen testicles are nothing,” he said.
“Nicki Minaj says she wants to investigate: there’s a lot of research out there. The American Medical Assn newspaper. Looked specifically at fertility issues and didn’t find fertility issues,” said Gupta, who noted that impotence and infertility have been unfounded fears since vaccines were deployed. “I appreciate you wanting to investigate. It’s out. I wish your cousin’s friend well, but that’s not related to him [COVID-19] vaccine “.
Back on Twitter, Minaj continued to shoot. On Tuesday he made up-to-date information about the cousin who unexpectedly found himself in the crosshairs.
“My #cousin who has #TheFriend just sent me a text message telling me to call him. * Bites his nails *,” he wrote. “Ugh! You idiots! If you saw this in the news, it’s all your fault !!! It’s supposed to be a secret … If anyone asks me, I haven’t been told. Okay? * Stare text “.
The Grammy-nominated rap star as well attacked Joy Reid of MSNBC with a racist insurrection for having scolded her for her vaccine skepticism. Reid was disappointed that Minaj used his strong platform “to encourage our community not to protect itself and save lives.”
“My God, sister, you can do better than that. You have this platform; it’s a blessing to have you, “Reid said on his show,” The ReidOut. “” People listen to you, and they listen to you more than to me. “
The rapper responded with the insinuation and called Reid a homophobic liar, who took the receipts out of the 2018 Reid block scandal. “I guess I can get involved in reindeer games too, right? Ppl can go on TV and lie about me, I can report it too, right? “Minaj tweeted.” They don’t have to be true. It could be half-truth. “
Then the hosts of the influential morning radio show “The Breakfast Club” called Reid and reminded him that Minaj finally said he would get vaccinated. (But remember, this hasn’t been the takeaway in all of this.)
Minaj also found unlikely allies among conservatives: Fox News’ Tucker Carlson came to his defense, as did expert Candace Owens. But when Minaj’s fans called her to thank her for her support in retweeting Carlson’s segment, Minaj I didn’t have it.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, polarizing British journalist Piers Morgan welcomed Minaj’s last-minute narrative, as English chief physician Chris Whitty said.
“Professor Whitty beefinging with the terribly @NICKIMINAJ (one of the rudest ladies I’ve ever met) is not the breaking news I was expecting today, but it is very welcome. He is selling lies that will cost his life, ”Morgan said he tweeted.
“Sir, I’ve never met you.” I know … we all look alike, “Minaj replied in a tweet.” ‘The Littleest Mrs. Rudest’. I like her. She has a special ring. Thank you Pierce. “Scones. Tea. Clown nose and big red shoes for you. Lmk girl,” he wrote. Then he also called him and corrected his own misinformation about his story. a chosen tweet, loaded with explanations. (Minaj has updated her Twitter biography to call herself “Rudest little madam”).
But Morgan stopped, tweeting that they had in fact met, in “America’s Got Talent,” and that all British names must sound the same because he was wrong.
Not without reason, Minaj’s statements were sensational fodder for the night circuit. Stephen Colbert mimicked his hit “Super Bass” with his own “Super Balls” from “The Late Show” and Jimmy Kimmel said he wanted to interview his cousin on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
The rapper retweeted excerpts from the last show and said he loved Colbert, but said he “never cited” the anecdote of swollen testicles as a reason he was not vaccinated.
“Lying is so much fun. I would say it will be bad for this lady, but I really like Stephen Colbert, ”she said of the parody, which opened with CNN’s Brianna Keilar asking Gupta about the controversy.
As for Kimmel’s interview request, he tweeted that his cousin was “willing to talk for the right price.”
On Wednesday afternoon, or what Minaj called “#BallGate day 3,” the rapper claimed she had been invited to the White House to discuss her stance.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction. Yes, I go. I’ll be dressed in all pink like Legally Blonde, so they know I’m referring to business. I’ll ask questions on behalf of people who have been mocked for just being human, ”she tweeted, adding,“ I’m doing it, girl. If you have any questions you would like to ask, leave comments. You will see it in real time with complete transparency “.
It was unclear if he was joking about the White House invitation, but apparently he had some correspondence with the Biden administration.
“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 Wednesday in a email to The Times.
Times Times writer Chris Megerian contributed to this report.