Enlarge image
Nicki Minaj at the 2019 Met Gala;
this year she stayed away
Photo: Jennifer Graylock / dpa
The Minister of Health of Trinidad and Tobago has contradicted a much discussed tweet by US rapper Nicki Minaj about alleged side effects of a corona vaccination.
The 38-year-old had written on Monday that a friend of her cousin in Trinidad had swollen testicles after being vaccinated against the coronavirus and that he had become impotent.
His fiancée then canceled the wedding.
Caribbean State Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said Wednesday there were no reports of such a case.
"Unfortunately we wasted so much time yesterday investigating that false claim," he said.
Minaj was born in Trinidad and grew up in New York.
She first announced on Twitter on Monday that she would not be vaccinated for the Met Gala.
At the fashion show in New York on Monday, a vaccination was mandatory, Minaj stayed away from the event.
Shortly after this tweet, the anecdote about her cousin's boyfriend followed.
Minaj also advised her more than 22 million followers to think carefully about the decision to vaccinate and not to be intimidated.
For this, the pop star earned a lot of ridicule and criticism - even offline.
Britain's top government medical advisor, Chris Whitty, said Tuesday Minaj should be ashamed.
There are people who spread untruths about vaccination even though they knew better.
#BallGate: Nicki Minaj wants to visit the White House
Your tweet was a topic of conversation, especially in the USA, because the influential right-wing TV presenter Tucker Carlson praised him as "sensible" on his Fox News program.
Carlson repeatedly saw doubts about the necessity and safety of vaccines against the coronavirus.
He has only just admitted to occasionally telling the truth on the air.
Minaj had recently tweeted that she would probably get vaccinated at some point.
On Wednesday, she wrote that she had been invited to the White House.
There she will ask questions on behalf of the people who have been ridiculed for simply being human.
She also posted the hashtag #BallGate.
aar / dpa
