Nicki Minaj Says She Didn’t Attend This Year’s Met Gala Because of Vaccine Requirement

Nicki Minaj attends The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 6, 2019. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Rapper Nicki Minaj on Sept. 13 revealed that she would not be attending this year’s Met Gala due to the COVID-19 vaccine requirement.

The annual event, which was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, went ahead this year in compliance with New York’s “Key To NYC” plan that requires COVID-19 vaccination for indoor entertainment, recreation, dining, and fitness settings.

Minaj, whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, took to Twitter to inform her 22.6 million followers that she would not be attending the event, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, until she had done “enough research” into vaccinations, but encouraged people to continue wearing masks.

“They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. If I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met,” Minaj wrote on Monday.

“It’ll be once I feel I’ve done enough research. I’m working on that now. In the meantime my loves, be safe. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grips your head & face. Not that loose one,” she continued.

The rapper, 38, then went on to share another post stating, “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.”

According to the FDA fact sheets for the Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, there has not yet been any research that indicates that COVID-19 vaccines and erectile dysfunction are linked.

When one follower told Minaj that they had to get vaccinated in order to work but that they were unsure about having a second shot, the rapper encouraged those in a similar situation to get vaccinated, noting that she may also do so in the future.

“I know babe. A lot of countries won’t let ppl work w/o the vaccine,” Minaj replied. “I’d def recommend they get the vaccine. They have to feed their families. I’m sure I’ll b vaccinated as well cuz I have to go on tour, etc.”

Another of Minaj’s followers also informed her that they have received the vaccine and “haven’t got the virus or anything so that’s a good thing,” to which the rapper replied: “That’s amazing babe. This is the norm.”

In a separate Twitter post, Minaj asked her followers which vaccines they would recommend.

Minaj’s Twitter posts about the vaccine initially began after a fan pointed out that she had not made a public appearance in over a year, to which Minaj, who gave birth to her first child in September 2020, explained: “I have an infant with no nannies during COVID. Who mad? Not risking his health to be seen.”

She later questioned a fan who noted that “the vaccine doesn’t prevent getting covid, it prevents you getting serious symptoms” and that “non-vaccinated people are 11x more likely to pass away from covid than vaccinated.”

Minaj responded: “Babe. That’s not true. I had the exact same symptoms as ppl with the [expletive] vaccine.”

Elsewhere in her series of posts, Minaj responded to one fan who said they had noticed that she “seemed to be scared of Covid,” and the singer implied that she had tested positive for COVID-19 while preparing for the MTV Video Music Awards.

“Love u babe. I was prepping for vmas then i shot a video & guess who got COVID?” the rapper replied. “Do u know what it is not to be able to kiss or hold your tiny baby for over a week? A baby who is only used to his mama? ‘get vaccinated’ Drake had just told me he got covid w|THE VACCINE tho so chile.”

Efforts to contact representatives for Minaj’s label and management for comment were unsuccessful as of early Tuesday.