Nicki Minaj is addressing critics who took on her COVID-19 vaccine claims in 2021, including that a friend of a family member in Trinidad developed “swollen testicles” after getting the shot.
In a December cover story for Vogue, the Grammy-winning rapper opened up about motherhood, returning to music with her newest album Pink Friday 2, and the stresses of high-profile fame. During the discussion, Minaj briefly addressed her criticized social media statements, which included her posting an alleged experience from an unnamed friend of a cousin.
“My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent,” she wrote on X, which at the time was known as Twitter. “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.”
Minaj would later add that she recommended others get the vaccine before encouraging people to “wear the mask with 2 strings that grips your head & face. Not that loose one.” But that initial tweet would garner attention across social media and within the larger media ecosystem, with the likes of MSNBC’s Joy-Ann Reid, The Late Show‘s Stephen Colbert and then-Daily Show host Trevor Noah all responding to her statement or the surrounding controversy.
It also garnered a response from Trinidad and Tobago’s Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh, who in a public statement at the time said there were “absolutely no reported such side effects or adverse event of testicular swelling in Trinidad” like the one Minaj described.
“I’m one of those people who doesn’t go with a crowd,” Minaj told the magazine while reflecting on that time in 2021. “I like to make my own assessment of everything without help from everyone.”
The chart-topping rapper also elaborated on why she hasn’t gotten more directly political, including endorsing candidates, despite having shared her stances on abuses of power by law enforcement and universal health care.
“Every time I talk about politics, people get mad,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I am not going to be told who I should get on social media and campaign for. There’s a lot we don’t know that’s going on in the government, and I don’t think it changes whether you lean to the left or right.”
