The Health Minister of Trinidad and Tobago is calling out Nicki Minaj for her claim that a man’s testicles became swollen after getting the COVID-19 vaccine on the Caribbean island.
A firestorm on Twitter erupted Monday when the “Anaconda” artist tweeted: “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.”
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
Related Story: Nicki Minaj Skips Met Gala Over COVID Vaccination Requirement
Reuters reports Trinidad and Tobago’s Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh criticized Minaj’s post as a “false claim.”
“One of the reasons why we could not respond yesterday in real-time to Miss Minaj is that we had to check and make sure that what she was claiming was either true or false,” Deyalsingh said Wednesday, Sept. 16.. “Unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim.”
“I’m not blaming her for anything – but she should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis as except a one-off anecdote, and that’s not what science is all about,” he added.
In a follow-up tweet Monday, the hip-hop star said she’s unvaccinated, but plans to get a shot in to eventually go on tour. Still, medical experts and social media users took the Grammy-nominated artist to task for spreading misinformation about the vaccine to her millions of followers.
“Nicki also used her social media platform and her 22 million Twitter followers to cast doubt on the vaccine to a heavily Black audience,” MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid said on her show.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to the president, also shut down Minaj during an interview Monday with CNN’s Jake.
“There’s no evidence that it happens, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen,” Fauci said about Minaj’s swollen testicles claim.
Dr. Anthony Fauci says Covid-19 vaccine approval for children under the age of 12 is "going to be some time in the fall."
"There will be enough data to apply with an emergency use authorization, both by Pfizer, a little bit later by Moderna." pic.twitter.com/Wr1EqnDIUL
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) September 14, 2021
Still, the rapper does have some supporters, including controversial Fox News Host Tucker Carlson.
On his show this week, Carlson complained people took issue with the final part of Minaj’s tweet, not her whole statement.
“This has not anything to do with the physical effect of the vaccine that makes our political class mad, it’s the last part of Nicki Minaj’s tweet that enrages them, the part where she says, ‘You should pray on it,’ make the decision yourself like a free human being and quote, ‘Don’t be bullied.’”
Minaj reposted the video on Wednesday with a target emoji.
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 15, 2021
On Sept. 9, the CDC responded to concerns about the side effects of the vaccine, tweeting: “No evidence to date shows that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, can cause fertility problems in men or women.”
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