While accepting the Game Changer award at the 2019 Billboard Women in Music ceremony, Nicki Minaj spent the bulk of her speech remembering her friendship with Juice WRLD, who died this month at the age of 21.
"I recently had the pleasure of working and touring with Juice WRLD," Minaj told the audience. "I had a great conversation with him one day and while we walked to the stage he held my hand and told me to stay calm and to pray. He said he had been trying to do just that. I was so shocked to hear him, of all people, tell me that. But right there in that moment with him telling me that, I actually did feel calm. And I felt like, what am I actually worried about?"
Juice WRLD, Minaj added, was a "kindred spirit" and was someone who inspired her with his prolific passion for creativity.
"Looking back now, I wish I did something differently or said something to help," she said Thursday night. "He spoke to me in detail about how in love he was with his girlfriend and how passionate he was about music. And when he was in the studio with me, he did so many songs so quickly. He was honest and pure about what he felt and that inspired me."
Minaj then sent condolences to the Death Race for Love artist's friends and family, noting that she didn't feel comfortable just talking about herself at the awards ceremony because "someone so important to our culture" had died.
She also spoke generally about struggles with drug addiction and mental health, urging those listening to never judge anyone for their path.
"I wanna tell everyone that drugs isn't the problem, it's the way we fix our problem," she said. "So it's important that we don't pass judgment so that people don't feel ashamed to speak up and ask for help. It's so important that we talk about mental health, it is, because people are dying because they don't want to express how miserable they are and how much they're suffering so they'd rather medicate themselves."
RIP Juice WRLD.
