Nicki Minaj claims she was restricted on Twitter and can’t tweet following her comments about the COVID-19 vaccine but the social media app has denied the charge.
Minaj caused controversy on Monday when she told her 22.6 million followers on Twitter that she would not attend the Met Gala as one of the conditions was to be vaccinated. The rap superstar revealed she recently got COVID but will not yet take the vaccine.
She even shared an anecdote about a cousin’s friend’s testicles swelling and becoming impotent after taking the COVID shot.
“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 wrote.
Minaj has refused to back down from her stance and continued to push back against her critics, including MSNBC host Joy Reid. The host took exception to her statements but Minaj found an ally in conservatives such as Fox News host Tucker Carlson and conservative firebrand Candace Owens.
The rapper re-shared a video where Carlson highlighted her point of view. She responded to backlash for amplifying the Fox News host who was described as a “white nationalist.”
“Right. I can’t speak to, agree with, even look at someone from a particular political party. Ppl aren’t human any more. If you’re black & a Democrat tells u to shove marbles up ur a–, you simply have to. If another party tells u to look out for that bus, stand there & get hit,” she tweeted.
“You know how many US Presidents were white supremacists? Oh please. Just stay on topic. Y’all can’t do that. The topic is: asking questions is OK. but let’s make the topic: Nicki talks to white racists so that you can all sleep better tonight. Dummies,” she tweeted.
Minaj also claimed that she’d been invited to discuss the matter by the White House.
“The White House has invited me & I think it’s a step in the right direction. Yes, I’m going. I’ll be dressed in all pink like Legally Blonde so they know I mean business. I’ll ask questions on behalf of the ppl who have been made fun of for simply being human. #BallGate day 3,” she tweeted.
However, the White House downplayed extending an invitation.
“As we have with others, we offered a call with Nicki Minaj and one of our doctors to answer questions she has about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine,” an official said.
Minaj suddenly ended her stream of tweets on Wednesday afternoon. She took to Instagram to declare that she’d been put in Twitter jail by the social media app.
“I’m in Twitter jail yall. They didn’t like what I was saying over there on that block, I guess my poll was gonna be Asking questions is ok I like being fking dumb then boom. Can’t tweet,” she posted to her IG stories.
She also got on IG Live to further share her frustrations.
“Look at what they just did. I will never use Twitter again. First of all, I didn’t give facts about any vaccine. I didn’t give any facts about anything,” she said.
Twitter has a policy of restricting the access of users who spread misinformation about COVID and the available vaccines. However, the platform denied to Vulture that it had taken any measures to censure Minaj.
“Twitter did not take any enforcement action on the account referenced,” a spokesperson said.
Twitter is not the only medium where Minaj’s commentary has come under scrutiny. Trinidad and Tobago’s health minister debunked her claims on Wednesday, theGrio reported.
“But her tweet certainly did not help because people like her are social influencers and they do carry some sway. So it certainly didn’t help, and will make our job a little harder, which we don’t need right now,” Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said in a press conference on Wednesday. Deyalsingh also added that proving her wrong was also a “waste of time.”
The CDC and doctors have similarly dismissed Minaj’s theories.
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