They're two very different names who rarely cross paths, but what exactly have rapper Nicki Minaj and Prime Minsiter of the United Kingdom, the Honourable Boris Johnson been fighting about? A bizarre row has broken out this week between the 38-year-old singer and the British politician after Nicki took to Twitter to share an anecdote suggesting the Covid-19 vaccine may cause impotency and infertility in men. Writing online, she said: '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.'
Urging her 22 million followers to use caution has caused a whole heap of controversy, and a large amount of criticism towards the pop star, who has been accused of scaremongering and myth-making with regards to Covid vaccination. Nicki has landed herself in hot water for her views, and has been open about herskepticism towards the jab - last week not attending the Met Gala because of her unvaccinated status. But how exactly have her divisive opinions caused her to become embroiled in a feud with PM Boris?
6 Nicki's Views Were Brought Up In An Official UK Covid Briefing
The feud all began during an official Covid briefing by UK ministers, which was held on Tuesday this week. Such was the seriousness and popular reach of Nicki's claim, England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, decided to criticise her tweet, and said simply: "In my view, they should be ashamed." Sajid Javid also described the 'Starships' singer's tweets as "ridiculous." Oh dear.
Boris also chimed in during the meeting, saying that he did not know much about Nicki and her career, but maintained his message that "vaccines are wonderful and everyone should get one."
5 She Then Took To Twitter To Have It Out
Nicki was apparently unhappy about hearing this, and in typical style took to Twitter to slyly air her grievance, creating a bizarre video with the caption "send this to the prime minister & let him know they lied on me. I forgive him. No one else. Only him." with a series of Union Jack emojis. The 43-second video features a voice note during which Nicki puts on a British accent and says:
'"Yes, hello Prime Minister, Boris, it's Nicki Minaj. I was just calling to tell you that you were so amazing on the news this morning. And I'm actually British. I was born there. I went to university there. I went to Oxford.
"I went to school with Margaret Thatcher. And she told me so many nice things about you. I'd love to send you my portfolio of my work, since you don't know much about me, I'm a big, big star in the United States."
Well, Boris should certainly know who you are now, Nicki.
4 Piers Morgan Entered Into The Debate
A public figure who is similarly never shy about debates, journalist Piers Morgan, took to Twitter to reprimand Nicki for her rude behaviour, calling her "ghastly" and also "one of the rudest little madams I've ever met", before accusing her of "pedalling lies that will cost lives." Ouch.
Piers backed up his opinion by recalling an occasion when Nicki was "too busy" to greet his three young sons during an America's Got Talent show. Nicki hit back, however, and had a very different version of events, saying "Stop fkng lying. I never turn down pics with kids. If a middle person told you that, they were out of line. don’t blame me you stupid piece of s***."
Things began to turn even uglier as Nicki threatened to go live on Instagram and take Piers on. "He gon make me go live. Chiiiiileeee", she wrote. "Does he have an ig. I wanna go live with him." The rapper finished with "ENOUGH UGLY!" Yikes.
3 Nicki Seems To Have Enjoyed The Twitter Row
Fans later noticed that Nicki had updated her Twitter bio, to now read 'Rudest little madam' with a Union Jack emoji alongside. The shade. The singer also said she had been finding the debate a riot, saying "I been laughing till my stomach hurts."
Posting a clip of the Prime Minister during the Covid briefing in which she was mentioned, Nicki wrote of Boris "I love him even tho I guess this was a diss? The accent ugh! Yassss boo!!!"
2 Could Nicki Be Plotting Her Own Political Career, Like Boris?
It seems that the pop star might be plotting her own Boris-style political career, if we're to trust in her recent Twitter comments. Following what has been dubbed 'Ball Gate', Nicki was tweeted by a fan saying 'The United Nations needs to invite you to speak at the General Assembly immediately.'
The singer wholeheartedly agreed, stating that the wheels were already turning on bringing the case to the highest office in the land. 'The White House has invited me & I think it’s a step in the right direction', Nicki divulged, '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.' Go Nicki!
1 Will We Be Hearing More About It In Future Tracks?
The confusing feud seems to have died down very quickly, having ended as soon as it began, with the rapper emerging victorious and proving herself, for the meantime, 'uncancelable.' But Nicki appears to have been inspired by the unexpected exchange, and has said she intends to use it as material in her future music, sharing a fan tweet which read ‘Thinking about the bars Nicki will spit about this.' Perhaps, now Boris is aware of Nicki, we can hope for a possible future collab? Just maybe?