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Nicki Minaj has been a rapper for over 15 years. While Minaj has acquired a significant amount of wealth and recognition as a rap artist, she has also been involved in her fair share of controversies in her career.
The most highlighted controversy surrounding Nicki is her husband being a registered s*x offender, which also led to a lawsuit being filed against her three years ago (which was later dropped). Having to bail her brother out of prison on charges of s**ual assault is another scandal attached to Minaj's name.
Here is a look at the biggest scandals the Hey Mama rapper has been involved in so far.
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Biggest controversies involving Nicki Minaj, explored
December 2015: Nicki Minaj bailed her brother out of a r*pe charge
On December 1, Nicki Minaj's brother— Jelani Maraj— was arrested in Nassau County, New York, on charges of first-degree r*pe and first-degree s**ual conduct against a child, USA Today reported.
The court documents of Maraj's case revealed that the child victim was below 13 years of age and was r*ped several times by him. Two days after his arrest, the 37-year-old reportedly suffered an unknown medical condition and had to be arraigned in a Long Island hospital.
Jelani's court documents also revealed that his sister, Nicki Minaj, paid $100,000 for his bail on Friday, December 4. The bail bond was also backed by two Baldwin homes, one owned by Minaj's mother and the other by her brother.
The additional fees associated with the bond, which ranged anywhere between $6,000-$10,000, were also paid by the Pink Friday rapper. Page Six reported on December 5, 2015, that Minaj was prepared to do anything for her brother.
Ira Judelson, the celebrity bail bondsman, was involved in handling Maraj's bail bond, allegedly on Nicki's request. Both Judelson as well as the defence lawyers declined to comment on the case's details.
August 2021: The Jennifer Hough lawsuit controversy
In August 2021, Jennifer Hough, the alleged victim of s**ual assault by Kenneth Petty, Minaj's husband, filed a lawsuit against the couple.
The lawsuit, filed in the federal court of Brooklyn, alleged that the Swalla rapper's associates had reached out to her family and her in an attempt to get a denial statement from her.
In exchange for Hough issuing a statement denying the occurrence of the s**ual assault by Kenneth Petty, they offered her $20,000 and a video of Nicki Minaj wishing her daughter a "happy birthday."
Jennifer's lawsuit also held Petty accountable for his assault back in 1994. Minaj was reportedly dropped from the lawsuit a few months later.
September 2021: Nicki Minaj's anti-vaccination controversy
On September 14, Nicki Minaj tweeted that she was invited to the Met Gala but wouldn't be attending it because of the mandatory vaccination requirement. Her hesitation towards the vaccinations that people all across the globe were getting administered created a sense of wider mistrust against them.
Shortly afterward, the Superbass rapper also tweeted about an incident she allegedly heard from her cousin in Trinidad, about a friend of his ending up with swollen testicles as a side effect of the vaccine. She also added that it led to the cancellation of his wedding, which was originally happening in a couple of weeks.
The rapper received an immediate backlash from Joy Reid, MSNBC host, as well as the Health Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Terrence Deyalsingh, claiming that the vaccine had no side effects and Minaj discouraging people from getting vaccinated was a questionable use of a celebrity's platform.
May 2024: Nicki Minaj's Amsterdam arrest
While on the Pink Friday 2 tour, Nicki Minaj arrived in Amsterdam, where she performed at the Ziggo Dome on May 24. Following the concert, as the rapper was leaving for Manchester, she was detained at the Schiphol Airport due to reported possession of "soft drugs" in her luggage.
The 41-year-old was also arrested because of it and had to spend about six hours in a cell before she was fined and released, allowed to continue her journey.
The delay in her travel plans led to the cancellation of Nicki's Manchester show, for which she blamed the airport authorities, who, according to one of her tweets, were "paid big money" to sabotage her show.
Nicki Minaj is currently in the last leg of her ongoing Pink Friday 2 tour, which will conclude in the US on October 11. The rapper has also announced that the date of her upcoming sixth studio album will be revealed soon.
