The MAGAfication of Minaj

Nicki Minaj, the queen of rap, once dominated headlines for good reason. In the 2010s, her fame was untouchable, supported unwaveringly by her fanbase, collectively known as ‘barbz’.. Some fourteen years ago, an adorably tutu-ed Sophia Grace Brownlee and her cousin Rosie sang Super Bass with all the bravado that primary schoolers could muster and shot to Ellen-induced fame. During this period, it was simply enough to be associated with the lustre of Minaj.

 

Nicki’s fanbase spanned the black, queer, and female communities. Her fierceness, theatricality, and tendency to look camp right in the eye morphed her into a representative for underdogs without a voice. When in 2011 Minaj, boldly pairing pink stripes with zebra print, was asked by paparazzi outside a Japanese restaurant, “what do you think it’s gonna take for us to finally get a gay rapper?”, she responded without hesitation: “I am a gay rapper, you got one!” Her unapologetic confidence encouraged her fans to live boldly.

 

But Nicki started falling into feuds. And loudly. She has always been one to take to Twitter (known as X to the cult of Elon), turning to communities online to validate her feelings, and perhaps ease her fears of being sidelined. Especially during the pandemic, when many celebrities almost cancelled themselves with inappropriate and moralising remarks, Nicki used X to spout her anti-vax politics. Now, far too many of us are plagued by thoughts of her cousin’s friend in Trinidad with swollen balls. Her stance on the vaccine debate began to align her politically with figures of the right: Tucker Carlson praised her perspective as ‘sensible’.

 

In 2024, one of these feuds became a little more serious, with the release of ‘Big Foot’ – a diss track against Megan Thee Stallion -, dubbed ‘quite possibly the worst diss track of all time’ by one disgruntled redditer. Personal tastes aside, the song sounds like a manifestation of Minaj’s own insecurity, a result of feeling rattled at the prospect of potentially losing her perch on the throne of rap. Nicki stoops low enough to reference Megan’s dead mother, as well as the time Megan was shot in the foot by Tory Lanez, a crime for which he is serving a 10-year sentence. Indeed, on an instagram live, Nicki stutteringly calls Megan a ‘bullet fragment foot bitch’ – her own insecurities clawing to be seen, with the facade of fierceness long since shrugged off.

 

This was perhaps the Turning Point (haha, more on that later), for a lot of barbz, who could no longer stick by their queen as she cruelly bullied other women. But barbz are intrinsically fanatical, known as one of the strongest fanbases of the world, and one that you never wanted to cross. Those that have chosen to stay with her, then, are now ensnared in her politics.

 

Last November, Nicki shared a tiktok from the official White House account, which lauded Trump’s supposed achievements, set to Minaj’s own Va Va Voom. One of the listed achievements was “no men in women’s sports”, signalling Nicki’s support for an anti-trans rhetoric that would fester until it exploded with Gavin Newsom over X. Newsom, governor of California, where Nicki lives, appeared on the Ezra Klein show and was asked about his stance on trans people. In order to explain his varying perspectives on trans athletes and trans people generally, he claimed ‘I want to see trans kids’, which Minaj did not like: “Not even a trans ADULT would run on that”. Her diatribe continued, composed and punctuated like Trump tweets, with seemingly random capitalised words and half-baked punny insults calling her opponent the Trump-coined moniker Gavin ‘Newscum’. Along with this, Nicki thought it pertinent to underline “how cute & sexy & hot & smoking” Gavin is, perhaps ragebaiting him into a response.

 

When Gavin did finally respond, he did so with a video montage, compiling clips of Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein, set to Megan Thee Stallion’s disstrack against Nicki, called Hiss. Specifically, Gavin finely selected a section of the song spouting “these hoes don’t be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan’s Law” – a law not named after Thee Stallion, but 7-year-old murder victim Megan Kanka, which requires US law enforcement to make information about registered sex offenders public. This directly references Minaj’s own personal life, as her husband, Kenneth Petty, was sentenced to home detention and probation in 2022 for failing to register as a sex offender in California, after his 1995 attempted rape conviction. What’s more, Nicki’s brother, Jelani Maraj, was convicted of predatory sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in 2017, and later sentenced to 25 years to life. This entire feud, and Gavin’s response, serves as a stark reminder of who Minaj has chosen to align herself with.

 

Then, on December 21st 2025, we got more than just a reminder, when Minaj appeared at a Turning Point USA event, called America Fest, in conversation with Erika Kirk. In comments dubbed ‘really profound’ by JD Vance, Minaj spoke of her personal Christian faith, before turning to laudatory remarks about Trump. The US President was praised as “dashing” and “handsome”, and the whole cabinet as “full of people with heart and soul”. Vance specifically was titled an “assassin” by Minaj, perhaps not the most apt choice of words at an event pioneered by Charlie Kirk, murdered in September 2025, and perpetuated by his widow. Then, referring to both Trump and Vance, Minaj credited them with having “a very uncanny ability to be someone that you relate to”, before admitting “I can relate to them.” This event cemented Minaj as full MAGA, as she promised she was “not going to back down ever again”.

 

At the end of January 2026, Minaj continued her cancellation tour when she appeared at a treasury department summit in Washington DC, showing support for Trump Accounts – a new type of investment account designed to “provide eligible American children with tax-advantaged investment accounts courtesy of President Donald J. Trump”. Pictured long-nailed-hand-in-foundation-laden-hand, Minaj grinned triumphantly with the President after he thanked her for “investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in Trump Accounts.” Trump’s comment on her acrylic nails – “I’m gonna let my nails grow, because I love those nails” – reminds us that his undeniable charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent would have been better placed in a drag career.

 

Minaj used to be critical of this administration, in 2018 citing her own experience of coming to the US as an illegal immigrant at five years old, and stating “I can’t imagine the horror of being in a strange place and having my parents stripped away from me at the age of five”. Yet, at a time when ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is brazenly tormenting the States, especially Minneapolis where Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good were both recently killed, Minaj has refused to speak out.

 

All this to say, Minaj’s loud transition into MAGA has been especially painful  to those who have long provided unwavering support: those who she built her career on. That is, primarily, barbz from the queer and black communities. It is, regrettably, long past time to wave goodbye to Minaj, as she stubbornly situates herself on the wrong side of history.

 

Not all is lost for the girls and the gays. Some celebrities have spoken out against the Trump administration, and specifically ICE in recent weeks. During this year’s Grammy Awards show, which took place on the 1st of February, host Trevor Noah mocked Minaj’s absence by joking she was busy hanging out with Donald Trump in the White House, a jab received with cheers and applause by the audience. When some of these audience members took to the stage to receive awards, they emphasised their denouncement of ICE – Billie Eilish stating “no one is illegal on stolen land”.

 

It is a sorry sight to see Minaj decimating her own career by turning against those who have stood by her, in exchange for those she has previously criticised, and who have previously criticised her. Charlie Kirk, in April of 2024, claimed Nicki was not ‘a good role model for 18-year-old black girls’, and maybe just now his statement rings true.

 

Words by Indiana Sharp. Image via Wikimedia Commons.