Rapper Nicki Minaj was not at the Met Gala in New York last night because she was unwilling to get vaccinated.
The entertainer, whose legal name is Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, said she previously contracted COVID-19 while rehearsing for this year’s MTV Video Music Awards and had to be away from her 12-month-old son.
“[I]f I get vaccinated it won’t [be] for the Met. It’ll be once I feel I’ve done enough research,” Minaj posted.
“This will be the first Met Gala Minaj has skipped in four consecutive years. In compliance with New York's ‘Key To NYC’ vaccination rules, all guests attending the gala, which is famously held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will be required to be fully vaccinated,” per CBS News
Minaj also expressed anger at news outlets claiming she ignored her real reason for not attending in favor of more flashy headlines.
Minaj followed up her original tweet with an anecdote that she believed explained her hesitation to get the vaccine.
The 38-year-old wrote, "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."
Meghan McCain, the TV personality and former co-host of The View, responded to this post by saying, “That's entirely enough internet for today."
According to the Center for Disease Control, there is “currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men."
NBC News reports, “some of Minaj's followers replied to the artist, begging her to stop tweeting, claiming both that her anecdotes were bizarre and that the efficacy and safety of the vaccines were already extremely well researched.”
Minaj later posted a poll on Twitter asking her followers which vaccine they recommended.
