By Tamlyn Canham
Health officials in Trinidad and Tobago have put Nicki Minaj on blast after she claimed her cousin’s friend in the country became impotent after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Trinidadian-born rapper made the comments while explaining why she did not attend the Met Gala. Nicki decided not to go as she would have to get vaccinated.
The ‘Itty Bitty Piggy’ rapper explained that she is not currently vaccinated as she wants to do more research.
“They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. if I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met. 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 & face. Not that loose one.”
They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. if I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met. 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 & face. Not that loose one 🙏♥️
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 13, 2021
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Nicki added in a separate tweet that her young son was another reason why she would not be attending any events.
I have an infant with no nannies during COVID. who mad? Not risking his health to be seen. One yaself. https://t.co/z1uo2OHO1b
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 13, 2021
Many Twitter users supported Nicki’s tweet, saying that they too were unsure about getting the vaccine just yet.
But things went downhill for Nicki when she mentioned her Trinidadian cousin.
“My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied,” she told her 22-million followers.
My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 13, 2021
Many called Nicki’s tweet “irresponsible” and “problematic”. Swollen testicles are not a side effect of the vaccine.
Health officials deny claims
Trinidad and Tobago Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh labelled Nicki’s claims about her cousin’s friend “false”.
Deyalsingh says Nicki wasted their time as officials had to follow up on the fake story.
“One of the reasons why we could not respond yesterday in real-time to Miss Minaj is that we had to check and make sure that what she was claiming was either true or false. Unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim.”
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#BREAKING – Trinidad & Tobago Health Minister Dr. Terrence Deyalsingh responds to swollen testicle claim made by Trinidad-born entertainer @NICKIMINAJ; says there is no such reported case in Trinidad & Tobago (TTT) pic.twitter.com/NNsc9EUTKP
— Kevz Politics (@KevzPolitics) September 15, 2021
Dr Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert, has also poured cold water on Nicki’s claims.
“There’s no evidence that it happens, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen,” he told CNN.
Dr Fauci also talked about the dangers of Nicki – who has a large following – spreading misinformation about the vaccine.
“There’s a lot of misinformation, mostly on social media, and the only way we know to counter mis and disinformation is to provide a lot of correct information.
“And to essentially debunk these kinds of claims, which may be innocent on her part. I’m not blaming her for anything but she should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis,” he said.
White House officials have offered to call Nicki to answer any questions she might have about the vaccine.
Nicki calls out Twitter
Nicki, meanwhile, has vowed never to use Twitter again after claiming she was put in “Twitter jail” over her remarks.
“They didn’t like what I was saying,” she said on Instagram Live.
But Twitter has denied the claims.
“Twitter did not take any enforcement action on the account referenced,” The Times quoted the platform as saying.
Tomiana purposely chose to ignore these tweets & others. I wonder why pic.twitter.com/TRY7ti2nlc
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 14, 2021
Main image credit: Instagram/@nickiminaj



