Earlier this week, Nicki Minaj made a series of bizarre tweets about COVID-19 vaccination after suggesting she declined an invitation to the Met Gala due to requirements that attendees be vaccinated.
“If I get vaccinated it won’t [be] for the Met,” the rapper said. “It’ll be once I feel I’ve done enough research. I’m working on that now.”
That “research” included some anecdotal and very questionable claims from one of Minaj’s cousin’s in Trinidad who said he refused to be vaccinated because a friend of his became impotent as a result, something there is no evidence vaccination against COVID-19 causes.
“His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding,” Minaj said. There is, once again, no evidence that a COVID-19 vaccination leads in any way to orchitis (testicle inflammation).
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
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 13, 2021
Minaj quickly faced backlash for her comments, including from our own Western Sydney Health, who tweeted that they’d “leave the rapping to Nicki Minaj if she leaves medicine to doctors and scientists,” immediately inviting a swarm of Minaj stans to start beefing with
Now, the Health Minister for Trinidad and Tobago has spoken out, with the Honourable Terrence Deyalsingh saying the country’s health officials had looked into Minaj’s claims.
“As far as we know, at this point in time, there has been no such reported either side effect or adverse event,” he said of Minaj’s impotence claims.
“And what was sad about this is that it wasted our time yesterday, trying to track down, because we take all these claims seriously, whether it’s on social media or mainstream media,” he added.
“As we stand now, there is absolutely no reported such side effect or adverse event of testicular swelling in Trinidad or, I dare say, anywhere else. None that we know of anywhere else in the world.”
Minaj’s claims have been shut down by multiple health officials around the world since her initial tweets. The US’ Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN “there’s no evidence… nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine” that vaccination against COVID-19 could cause fertility issues in men or women.
The UK’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty also criticised Minaj for spreading misinformation, saying those who pedal untruths about vaccination “should be ashamed.”
In Australia and anywhere else, vaccination remains the most effective defence against severe side effects as a result of the coronavirus, and the best step you can take towards ending lockdowns and restrictions. Learn more here.
