By Linda Hutchinson-Jafar | Reuters
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Trinidad and Tobago Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh connected Wednesday criticized arsenic “false” the assertion by American rapper Nicki Minaj that a idiosyncratic connected the Caribbean land suffered swollen testicles aft receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
Trinidad-born Minaj sparked an planetary furor erstwhile she alleged connected Twitter that her relative successful Trinidad refuses to get a vaccine due to the fact that his person go impotent aft being vaccinated.
“His testicles became swollen. His person was weeks distant from getting married, present the miss called disconnected the wedding,” Minaj, who has 22.6 cardinal Twitter followers, said connected Monday.
Here is however the Nicki Minaj communicative was covered connected CNC3 Television successful Port of Spain, Trinidad. I guarantee you this is worthy each 2:20 and it's astir apt amended than immoderate U.S. web covered the communicative pic.twitter.com/LjO1CMlq1z
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 15, 2021
The comments triggered an planetary backlash, with elder U.S. and British coronavirus officials condemning the claims.
Deyalsingh besides denounced the connection by the Grammy-nominated creator arsenic a discarded of time.
“One of the reasons wherefore we could not respond yesterday successful real-time to Miss Minaj is that we had to cheque and marque definite that what she was claiming was either existent oregon false. Unfortunately, we wasted truthful overmuch clip yesterday moving down this mendacious claim,” Deyalsingh said.
When asked astir Minaj’s tweets, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the apical U.S. infectious illness expert, said determination was a batch of misinformation connected societal media.
“I’m not blaming her for thing – but she should beryllium reasoning doubly astir propagating accusation that truly has nary ground arsenic but a one-off anecdote, and that’s not what subject is each about.”
Minaj said successful a abstracted tweet that she had not been capable to implicit capable probe of her ain connected the COVID-19 vaccines to get 1 successful clip for the Met Gala, a star-studded fundraiser for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Later, Minaj added that she volition get vaccinated to beryllium capable to tour.
Wednesday, the rapper tweeted that she would beryllium going to the White House to sermon it.
The White House has invited maine & I deliberation it’s a measurement successful the close direction. Yes, I’m going. I’ll beryllium dressed successful each pinkish similar Legally Blonde truthful they cognize I mean business. I’ll inquire questions connected behalf of the ppl who person been made amusive of for simply being human. #BallGate time 3 https://t.co/PSa3WcEjH3
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 15, 2021