Rapper Nicki Minaj is facing criticism after announcing plans to skip the Met Gala because she hasn't been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The "Anaconda" rapper on Monday tweeted that she wouldn't be attending the Met Gala, later noting she hasn't received a COVID-19 vaccine. Proof of vaccination is required to attend Monday's Met Gala, though according to The Washington Post, attendees can also provide a negative COVID-19 test result.
"They want you to get vaccinated for the Met," Minaj tweeted. "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."
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Minaj later encouraged her more than 22 million Twitter followers not to be "bullied" into getting vaccinated and baselessly suggested the vaccines can cause impotence. She also said that she "got COVID" after shooting a video.
Minaj immediately came under fire for her vaccination stance, which she shared at a time when U.S. officials were ramping up their efforts to convince unvaccinated Americans to get their shots. "We can write a thousand articles about how vaccines are effective in stopping the severity of COVID, and crucial towards curbing the pandemic for us all," reporter Sheera Frenkel wrote, "but one tweet like this will be held up by millions who are trying to put off getting vaccinated."
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