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Dr Terrence Deyalsingh, Trinidad & Tobago’s health minister, has debunked Nicki Minaj’s tweet regarding COVID-19 vaccines and male impotence.
Ballgate is the gift that keeps on giving, so much so that Trinidad & Tobago’s health ministry has gotten involved.
Last week, the rapper revealed she would not be attending this year’s MET Gala as a result of not having received any vaccinations against COVID-19. Attendees to the event were required to be fully vaccinated.
Minutes later, the Whole Lotta Money hitmaker tweeted an anecdote that quickly caught the world by its… balls.
In her tweet, Minaj claimed her cousin in Trinidad would not be receiving the vaccine because his friend’s testicles became swollen after receiving it. The tweet went viral with many accusing Minaj of being anti-vax and for spreading misinformation.
During a press conference on September 15, Dr Deyalsingh confirmed his department spent a day looking into Minaj’s claims – concluding they were untrue:
“And what was sad about this is that it wasted our time yesterday, trying to track down, because we take all these claims seriously, whether it’s on social media or mainstream media. As we stand now, there is absolutely no reported such side effect or adverse event of testicular swelling in Trinidad or, I dare say, anywhere else. None that we know of anywhere else in the world,” Dr Deyalsingh said.
There is a new mayor of Balls Twitter and he is Trinidad & Tobago Health Minister Dr. Terrence Deyalsingh. https://t.co/i0VnR7Dpd6
— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) September 15, 2021
The revelation comes amidst a wave of backlash leveled at Minaj.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the chief White House medical adviser in the United States, slammed the Yikes rapper when asked about the situation on CNN.
“She should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis except a one-off anecdote, and that’s not what science is all about,” Fauci said.
Likewise, Joy-Ann Reid, host of the MSNBC show, The ReidOut, expressed that Minaj’s careless tweet could result in more deaths as vaccine hesitancy continues to contribute to the numbers of positive cases of COVID-19 in the United States.
“For you [Minaj] to use your platform to put people in the position of dying from a disease they don’t have to die from, oh my god, as a fan, as a hip hop fan, as somebody who’s your fan, I’m so sad that you did that,” Reid said.
At the same time, Minaj has found unlikely allies in conservative media personalities, Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens.
When appearing on the former’s program, Tucker Carlson Tonight, the latter expressed her support for the Anaconda rapper – stating that Minaj has been unjustly crucified for expressing herself.
“Nicki Minaj accidentally stumbled upon the Ministry of Truth … [T]here are people that control what you’re allowed to say, what you’re not allowed to say and if you say something that they don’t want you to say, they will make a concerted effort to take you down,” Owens said.
Nicki Minaj and Dr. Terrence Deyalsingh about to be on Verzuz
— Mike Keller (@gmkeller4) September 15, 2021
In follow-up tweets, Minaj recommended people receive the vaccine for work:
“I’m sure I’ll b[e] vaccinated as well cuz I have to go on tour, etc,” she tweeted.
