Biden official denies Nicki Minaj’s claim she was invited to White House to talk about vaccine
"Do y'all think I would go on the internet and lie about being invited to the f---ing White House?" she asked later on Instagram Live.
After an official from the White House denied anyone from President Joe Biden‘s administration extended an offer to Nicki Minaj to come in person to speak with someone about the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines, the rap star blasted them in an Instagram Live rant.
“The White House has invited me (and) I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Minaj claimed on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon amid a high-profile, days-long dialogue that included talk about the COVID-19 vaccine’s supposed effect on the friend of a family member. “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 (people) who have been made fun of for simply being human.”
“If you guys have questions you’d like me to ask, leave (them) in the comments,” she wrote in a follow-up tweet. “You’ll see it in real-time with full transparency.”
A spokesperson from the Biden administration issued a statement later Wednesday, saying, “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.”
In 14-minute Instagram Live video on Wednesday night, Minaj forcefully responded back to the White House’s denial, asking, “Do y’all think I would go on the internet and lie about being invited to the f***ing White House? Like what? Do you guys see what is happening right now?”
She claimed that members of her team got a call from the White House requesting that she meet with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy.
“We’d like to offer Nicki an invitation to come to the White house to speak with two people … the two names … um, what is that man’s name … Dr. Fauci and with the surgeon general,” Minaj said on Instagram.
“And do you know what I said?,” she continued. “I said, ‘Well, I would rather not have to travel; can we do something like a [Instagram] Live,’ and they said that they’re open to me to choosing a platform to do a Live, but they never have taken that off the table for me to come to the White House.”
Minaj has been trending for days on Twitter following a series of her tweets on Monday just before New York’s annual fashion costume event, The Met Gala.
“They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. if I get vaccinated it won’t [be] 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,” the 38-year-old rapper tweeted.
About an hour after tweeting about her decision not to get vaccinated for the Met Gala, Minaj claimed that a family friend became “impotent” after getting inoculated — something that has been debunked by medical experts as a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“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,” she tweeted. “So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied.”
The tweet sparked a firestorm that has lasted for days. Minaj’s comments were addressed by MSNBC host Joy Reid, who decried the rapper’s tweets but later said she understood vaccine hesitancy and called the situation a “teachable moment.”
Minaj also claimed Wednesday that she was restricted on Twitter and could not post to her more than 22 million followers. However, a spokesperson for the social media company said, “Twitter did not take any enforcement action on the account referenced.”
Currently, Minaj’s name is still trending on Twitter among conservatives who agree with her stance on vaccination. She recently shared a video of Fox News figure Tucker Carlson addressing the issue with a bullseye emoji as the caption.
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