Why was Ari Lennox arrested in Amsterdam? Details explored as Nicki Minaj revisits incident following her release

After being unexpectedly detained by Amsterdam police for alleged drug possession with reportedly little to no justification, rapper Nicki Minaj was let go upon posting bail. She was ultimately allowed to leave, even though the reason behind her arrest was ambiguous.

In light of this, on May 26, the rapper shared a tweet talking about singer Ari Lennox's 2021 arrest in Amsterdam:

Nicki's tweet about Lennox (Image via X / @@NICKIMINAJ)

Hot New Hip Hop reported that in 2021, Lennox was allegedly arrested in the city for disorderly conduct. At the time, the artist asserted that she was racially profiled and accused the authorities of racism and prejudice.

People Magazine further highlighted that Lennox told her fans that she had been arrested "for reacting to a woman who was racially profiling me." Per Reuters, she then said that "Amsterdam security" "hates black people."

She further added:

"I just want to go home. I'll never leave my house again."

---

Nicki Minaj revisited the arrest of Ari Lennox after getting arrested herself

Nicki Minaj accused the authorities of being racist (Image via Getty)

The police reported that rapper Nicki Minaj was arrested by Dutch officials on May 25 for allegedly possessing "soft drugs." In a video that was posted to her Instagram Live account, Minaj can be seen holding her camera phone while talking with the police at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. The officer informed her that she must go with them to the precinct.

Hot New Hip Hop further reported that later, addressing a similar incident that happened to Ari Lennox in 2021, the rapper wrote on her X profile:

"[Ari Lennox] was 'full of emotions’. She was arrested b/c she was full of emotions in AmsterDAM. Hmmmmm interesting. I didn’t know this was a 'thing' there. Who spoke up for her? Could’ve easily been another Sandra Bland incident. I’m so happy she made it out alive & well."

Ari Lennox was taken into custody in Amsterdam on Monday, November 29, 2021. The Guardian reported that Lennox accused the Dutch airport security of hating black people in a series of tweets she posted, detailing her unpleasant encounter with them.

On the other hand, the same day, Robert van Kapel, a spokesman for the national police department, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, told Reuters that the musician had been arrested for disrupting public order after claiming that airline staff had discriminated against her based on her race.

The police further said that Lennox was detained for acting in a hostile manner toward an airline representative and for being intoxicated in public. Van Kapel told the publication:

"Our unit found a woman full of emotions that wouldn't calm down. That's why she had to be taken into custody."

---

Dutch Police did not name Nicki Minaj in their statement about the arrest

Nicki Minaj has captured the entire incident on her social media (Image via Getty)

The rapper captured a video of her arrest in which she can be seen being led from her car and asked to board a police truck. When told that she is under arrest for carrying drugs, Minaj answered:

“I’m not carrying drugs.”

Throughout the video, the rapper, who is currently on tour, kept asking for the police station's address and for a lawyer to be there, but the police kept telling her to stop recording. Ultimately, she chose to get inside the police van on her own.

The Dutch Police later confirmed that they had detained an American woman for "soft drug" possession. However, they did not provide the woman's name or the nature of the allegedly found drugs. In a statement on X, they wrote: [as per a Google translation]

"We have just released a 41-year-old American woman who we arrested this afternoon at Schiphol on suspicion of exporting soft drugs. After consultation with the Public Prosecution Service, the suspect was fined and can continue her journey."

A few hours after her arrest on Saturday, Nicki Minaj was released from custody.