You never know who will attend the Met Gala until the actual event, but Nicki Minaj confirmed that she wouldn’t be attendance over the event’s safety protocols.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art requires all visitors age 12 and older to be vaccinated against COVID-19, in accordance to New York’s mandate requiring proof of vaccination for indoor activities amid the pandemic. The same applies to this year’s Met Gala.
But minutes before the biggest night in fashion kicked off Monday, Minaj revealed on Twitter that she recently contracted COVID-19 and declared, “If I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met.”
“They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. if I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met,” she tweeted. “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.”
In another tweet, Minaj said she contracted COVID-19 while prepping for the MTV Video Music Awards, which she also skipped Sunday: “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?”
The singer welcomed a son in Sept. 2020 with husband Kenneth Petty. Minaj also tweeted Monday that she has “an infant with no nannies during COVID… Not risking his health to be seen.”
Minaj also tweeted that her cousin in Trinidad has a friend who allegedly “became impotent” after getting vaccinated. The next day, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Jake Tapper on CNN that Minaj’s concern over COVID-19 vaccines and reproductive issues is unfounded.
There’s no evidence that it happens, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen,” Fauci said. “She should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis, except as a one-off anecdote, and that’s not what science is about.”
Roughly half of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but vaccine hesitancy persists as the Delta variant rages in the U.S.
So far, the pandemic has cost at least 656,000 American lives. Unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to new studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Friday.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday that over 90% of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 are unvaccinated at this point, and there are 10 times the number of unvaccinated people in the hospital for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.
Some vaccinated people have gotten sick, but serious illness is rare in that group – another indication the coronavirus vaccines are safe and effective.
Minaj received mixed reactions from her devoted fanbase, known as Barbz. While some supported her declaration, an overwhelming amount of fans shared science-backed information to get the vaccine.
After nearly an hour of interacting with her fans on Twitter, Minaj asked her followers: “Which vaccine would you recommend? It’s #QueenRadio time. Talk to me.”
“A lot of countries won’t let ppl work w/o the vaccine. I’d def recommend they get the vaccine,” she added. “I’m sure I’ll b vaccinated as well cuz I have to go on tour, etc.”
