Nicki Minaj still stands by her skepticism of the COVID-19 vaccine.
In her new cover story with Vogue, the Pink Friday 2 rapper addressed her controversial remarks from 2021, with writer Rob Haskell saying the 40-year-old now "maintains a leery independence, though she is now less likely to shout it from the rafters."
“I’m one of those people who doesn’t go with a crowd,” she told the magazine. “I like to make my own assessment of everything without help from everyone.”
“Every time I talk about politics, people get mad,” Minaj added. “I’m sorry, but I am not going to be told who I should get on social media and campaign for. There’s a lot we don’t know that’s going on in the government, and I don’t think it changes whether you lean to the left or right.”
Back in 2021, after the first coronavirus vaccine was introduced, Minaj claimed that her cousin’s friend in Trinidad experienced “swollen testicles” and “became impotent” after getting inoculated.
She made the allegations after sharing she wouldn’t be hitting that year’s Met Gala because she wasn’t vaccinated, which was required of attendees. Her claims prompted responses from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Trinidad & Tobago Health Minister, and Johns Hopkins Medicine, among others who dismissed the misinformation.
Earlier this year, New York Rep. George Santos leaned into the controversy by naming a bill after Nicki, called the Minaj Act, which establishes “a development period for new vaccines in order to generate public confidence.”
The Queens native’s forthcoming album Pink Friday 2 is slated for release on her birthday, Dec. 8.
