Rap superstar, Nicki Minaj, has revealed the reason behind her absence at the 2021 Met Gala. Guests of the event are required to show proof of vaccination over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, the 38-year-old entertainer is yet to receive the COVID-19 jab.
“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,” she wrote on Twitter. “I’m working on that now.”
She added, “In the meantime my loves, be safe. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grip your head & face. Not that loose one ”(sic)
It wasn’t long before a portion of Minaj’s ever-loyal fans, Barbz, urged her to rethink her stance on vaccines, PageSix reports.
“Nicki the vaccine doesn’t prevent getting covid, it prevents you from getting serious symptoms,” one social media user wrote, echoing research from the CDC that shows vaccines are effective at keeping people from contracting fatal cases of COVID-19.
Still, Minaj insisted, “Babe. That’s not true,” she replied before seemingly acknowledging that she previously caught the virus. “I had the exact same symptoms as people with the damn vaccine.”
The “Starships” singer later claimed that her cousin in Trinidad refuses to get the vaccine because ‘his friend got it & became impotent.’
“His testicles became swollen,” she alleged. “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.”(sic)
According to the CDC, the vaccine is safe and is not known to cause impotency nor genital swelling. Rather, it is known to maximize protection from emerging variants — including Delta — while possibly preventing the virus from spreading to others.
Minaj’s tweets came hours before the event was set to kick off at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Minaj also skipped Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, saying she would “explain why another day;” it’s possible MTV’s event also had a vaccine mandate in place.
