Singer and rapper Nicki Minaj has entered the cut-throat world of politics - and is already making enemies. Last week, a bizarre row broke out over Twitter between the 38-year-old singer and the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson after Nicki shared a controversial personal anecdote suggesting the COVID-19 vaccine may cause impotency and infertility in men, because her cousin's friend had experienced swelling and discomfort following his jab.
After urging her 22 million online followers to exercise caution and resist being 'bullied' into taking the vaccine, Nicki has entered into a whole new world of political controversy, and has received an amount of criticism for her strong anti-vax views. After being called out by Boris Johnson, she was also attacked by British journalist and presenter Piers Morgan - and things have turned ugly. Let's have a rundown of the whole awkward feud which has been taking place online.
6 So, How Did It All Start?
The whole drama began on September 14 during an official COVID briefing by UK ministers. Such was the seriousness of Nicki's claim, and the amount of followers she has who are exposed to her views, that her tweet was brought up during the conference and England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, decided to criticise it, saying: "In my view, [people who spread myths about COVID] should be ashamed." Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid also described the 'Starships' singer's tweets as "ridiculous." Oh dear.
Boris Johnson also spoke on the issue during the meeting, saying that he did not know much about Nicki and her career, but underlined his pro-vax message that "vaccines are wonderful and everyone should get one."
5 Nicki Then Took To Twitter Again To Have It Out
Nicki wasn't too happy when she heard about the politicians' comments on her post, and took to Twitter again to fight back, releasing 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 where Nicki puts on a (surprisingly accurate) 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." Wow.
4 Piers Morgan Then Entered Into The Debate
A person who is similarly outspoken, and never afraid to take on those he disagrees with, 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." Piers wasn't pulling any punches.
Piers also attacked Nicki for her behaviour toward her fans 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 then 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!"
3 Piers Is Strongly Pro-Vaccine
Piers is known for his strong opinions - and has repeatedly paid the price for sticking to them, famously being sacked from his role as Good Morning Britain host after decalring he didn't believe Meghan Markle's claims during her Oprah Winfrey interview. He's even written a book about preserving free speech - Wake Up - which has become a bestseller in the UK.
It was no surprise therefore when he waded into the vaccine debate. Piers is strongly pro-vaccine, and has backed the Jabs Army campaign, encouraging others to take up the vaccine. Speaking to The Sun, he said "The rates of serious death if you have been vaccinated are negligible compared to if you are not vaccinated. I got jabbed so when I got COVID I got it a bit rough but that was it. I didn’t go to hospital and I didn't die.”
2 Nicki Changed Her Twitter Bio To 'Rudest Little Madam'
Eagle-eyed fans later noticed that Nicki had updated her Twitter bio after the online disagreement, which now reads 'Rudest little madam' with a Union Jack emoji alongside. The singer also said she had been finding the debate hilarious, 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!!!" Nicki has since been invited to the White House to discuss COVID vaccination.
1 Piers Has Since Slammed Nicki Further For Her Views
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, which he writes a column for, Piers talked about his feelings regarding Nicki's controversial tweets, complaining how Nicki is allowed to spread 'misinformation' without penalty. “Chris Whitty was right about Nicki Minaj. People with big followings just spew their garbage online. If I try and retweet Ronaldo’s goal tonight within 10 seconds someone will remove it, but Nicki Minaj’s tweets are still up.”