Nicki Minaj says she's skipping the Met Gala over its vaccine requirement
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."
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.
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."
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.
-
Political cartoons for December 21Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include Christmas movies, AI sermons, and more
-
A luxury walking tour in Western AustraliaThe Week Recommends Walk through an ‘ancient forest’ and listen to the ‘gentle hushing’ of the upper canopy
-
What Nick Fuentes and the Groypers wantThe Explainer White supremacism has a new face in the US: a clean-cut 27-year-old with a vast social media following
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
