Rap star Nicki Minaj sarcastically expressed her “love” for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after the UK leader and England’s Chief Medical Officer denounced her for spreading claims that the coronavirus vaccine causes impotence and “swollen testicles”.
Speaking at a Downing Street news conference on Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I am not as familiar with the works of Nicki Minaj as I probably should be. “But I am familiar with Nikki Kanani, a superstar GP of Bexley who has appeared many times before you, who will tell you vaccines are wonderful and everybody should get them.”
“That’s why I prefer to listen to Nikki Kanani,” Johnson said.
At the same press conference, Chief Medical Officer for England, Chris Whitty said that Nicky Minaj should be “ashamed” of herself for spreading “myths” vaccines.
“There are a number of myths that fly around, some of which are just clearly ridiculous and some of which are clearly designed just to scare,” Whitty said, addin, “That happens to be one of them.”
The two men were responding to a post on Twitter from Trinidadian-born rapper, in which Minaj 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,” she continued. “So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied.”
It is likely that her cousin’s friend received the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine, which has been the most widely adopted vaccine in Trinidad, according to local reports.
While there have been questions over the efficacy of the Chinese vaccine, the list of side effects do not include impotence or “swollen testicles”, according to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.).
Posting a video of the Downing Street briefing, Minaj responded to Boris Johnson’s comments, writing “I love him even tho I guess this was a diss? The accent ugh! Yassss boo!!”.
Minaj later posted an audio message putting on a fake British cockney accent and comedically claimed that she went to school in Oxford “with Margaret Thatcher”.
She went on to joke that she would “love to send” Johnson a “portfolio” of her work since the British leader was apparently unaware of her illustrious career.
“I’m a big big star in the United States,” Minaj exclaimed.
In a separate post on Twitter, Minaj said that she would not be pressured into getting vaccinated in order to attend events such as the Met Gala, which reportedly required celebrities to prove their vaccination status.
“If I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met. 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 wrote.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here @KurtZindulka