MUMBAI: Nicki Minaj is skipping the 2021 Met Gala because of its vaccination mandate.
Amid curiosity surrounding whether the 38-year-old rapper would attend the highly anticipated fashion event on Monday, Sept. 13, one fan shared pics to Twitter of a previous Met Gala that Nicki had attended. Nicki has understandably been busy over the course of the past year, as she and husband Kenneth Petty welcomed a son in Sept. 30, 2020.
This led the star to reply, "I have an infant with no nannies during COVID. who mad? Not risking his health to be seen. One yaself."
After another fan posted that he didn't watch Nicki to "risk catching" COVID-19 at the Met Gala, the performer responded, "Love u babe. I was prepping for vmas then i shot a video & guess who got COVID? 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?"
She continued, "'get vaccinated' Drake had just told me he got covid w|THE VACCINE tho so chile."
Nicki tweeted again to make it clear she is not currently vaccinated against COVID-19 and wasn't willing to do so for this event.
"They want you to get vaccinated for the Met," she posted. "if I get vaccinated it won't [be] 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."
A bit later, Nicki tweeted that her cousin's friend "became impotent" after getting the vaccine, and her tweet soon went viral. The CDC has disputed any connection between the vaccine and erectile dysfunction.
"My cousin in Trinidad won't get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent," she wrote. "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."
Additionally, Nicki had been scheduled to perform at the 2021 MTV VMAs that took place on Sunday, Sept. 12, but she dropped out days prior to the event.
Click here for our complete coverage of the 2021 Met Gala.