Tucker Carlson defends Nicki Minaj's 'sensible' vaccine-skeptical tweet about her cousin's friend's swollen testicles

It's not every day that Fox News host Tucker Carlson comes on the air to defend rapper Nicki Minaj and her tweets about swollen testicles.
But Monday was one of those days after Minaj fired off a series of tweets revealing she hasn't been vaccinated against COVID-19 and wouldn't be attending the Met Gala, slamming the event's vaccine requirement. She also tweeted a baseless claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause impotence, insisting this happened to her cousin's friend. "His testicles became swollen," she claimed. "His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding." According to the CDC, there's no evidence that "any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, can cause fertility problems in men or women." Minaj went on to urge followers not to be "bullied" into getting vaccinated.
On his show Monday, Carlson addressed Minaj's tweets, reading her post about her cousin's friend and about not being "bullied" before saying this "seems sensible." He also said that having an opinion on vaccine mandates "is still technically allowed in this country," and the Fox host promised to further report on the "big reaction" to Minaj's tweets on his Tuesday show. During this segment, the Fox News chyron read, "NICKI MINAJ: COUSIN'S TESTICLES BECAME SWOLLEN," although the tweet was actually about her cousin's friend. Carlson has argued against vaccine mandates and has refused to say whether he's been vaccinated himself.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Amid the backlash, Minaj criticized news coverage of her tweets and suggested she "didn't want to travel" to the Met Gala because of "my young child." She also went after MSNBC host Joy Reid, who blasted Minaj on the air for using her platform "to put people in the position of dying from a disease they don't have to die from." Minaj claimed Reid was spreading "a false narrative about a Black woman."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 4, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - deportation, Canadian politeness, and more
-
5 low approval cartoons about poll numbers
Cartoons Artists take on fake pollsters, shared disapproval, and more
-
Deepfakes and impostors: the brave new world of AI jobseeking
In The Spotlight More than 80% of large companies use AI in their hiring process, but increasingly job candidates are getting in on the act
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia