Late night hosts have questions, ideas, and jokes about Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend's swollen testicles
"The Met Gala was last night, but not everyone decided to attend," Trevor Noah said on Tuesday's Daily Show. Among the no-shows was Nicki Minaj, "for a reason that has set the internet ablaze," he said, "and ooh, baby, is there a lot to digest here."
Minaj said she would not get vaccinated to go to the Met Gala, then shared a story about her Trinidadian cousin's friend getting a COVID shot — and the unbelievable aftermath. "This poor guy" Noah said, "He's minding his own business, with these swollen testicles in Trinidad, and then because his best friend happens to be cousins with Nicki Minaj, now the whole world knows that he's impotent, he got dumped, and he's got giant testicles."
And after Minaj tweeted the story to her 22 million followers, everyone weighed in, Noah said, from right-wing commentators "rushing to Nicki's defense" to "liberal pundits like MSNBC's Joy Reid," who — Minaj pointed out when she "roasted her" — was vaccine-hesitant herself just a year ago.
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.
Minaj isn't really "doing her own research," Noah said, but she does appear persuadable to getting vaccinated, and "if you take Nicki at her word, or anyone who wants more information for that matter, instead of crucifying them just to prove how righteous we are, let's show them the research." The vaccines are safe, really effective, and aren't know to inflate testicles, "but even if you do want to blame the vaccine, Trinidad doesn't even use the same vaccines as America," he noted. "They use the Chinese vaccine Sinopharm."
"Did that guy know you're not supposed to get the shot ... you're suppose to get the shot in your arm," Jimmy Fallon said on The Tonight Show. Meanwhile, "Fireball is releasing their own kegs," luckily, because "when I saw Fireball trending, I thought something else happened to Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend."
Seriously, this "poor guy's sitting at home on his couch, TV dinner resting on his nuts, and now he's famous," Jimmy Kimmel said on Kimmel Live. "But this actually gives us a chance to talk about something that actually is important. Nicki's cousin's friend got the COVID vaccine, and then his testicles swelled up. That doesn't mean his testicles swelled up because he got the COVID vaccine." In fact, he said, "for this friend of Nicki's cousin, I hate to say it, but if your testicles swell up that big, the question isn't did you get a vaccine recently, it's: What have you been doing to your balls?"
And finally, The Late Show rewrote one of Minaj's songs for the occasion.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
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
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Indie film's 'very brief' use of AI sparks backlash and calls for boycotts
Talking Points Did the creators of a new horror movie make a deal with the artificial intelligence devil?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Could Taylor Swift swing the election?
Today's Big Question The pop star has outsized influence — and that extends beyond the music industry
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?
Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 wins
speed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughter
speed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopics
Speed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 Grammys
Speed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
South Korea passes law banning sale and production of dog meat
Speed Read Rare bipartisan support 'highlights changing attitudes' as young people shun centuries-old tradition
By The Week UK Published
-
Out of touch: Daryl Hall obtains restraining order against bandmate John Oates
Speed Read Lawsuit reveals unharmonious relationship between most commercially successful duo in pop history
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published