Do we like Nicki Minaj?
Our score: 2 out of 10. A year of her own words and posts on trans minors, an anti-gay slur at a journalist and rallying with Trump, with only some real generosity to set against it.
Nicki Minaj is one of the biggest names in rap, and lately the headlines are about politics, not music. In December 2025 she turned up as a surprise guest at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest, praised Trump and Vance, and told the crowd “it's OK to change your mind.” That was the start of a very public swing.
In January she posted an anti-gay slur at Don Lemon, a gay journalist, over his coverage of a protest at a Minnesota church, and said she wanted him jailed. Lemon told TMZ he was “not surprised”. Weeks later she told LGBTQ+ people to “wake up” and posted that “The LGBT has also started seeing through the veil.” Drag performer Adriana Trenta told her to keep the community out of her mouth.
The harm test also goes back to 2021, when she raised worries about the COVID vaccine in tweets. Revolt reported she said the White House had invited her to discuss it afterwards. It's a smaller mark than the last year, but it fits the same pattern of broadcasting doubt to millions of fans.
On nice, it's a mix. In September 2024 she told laid-off Atlantic Records staff on X that “UPS is hiring” and stomped on a photographer's camera at a show. She apologised for the second, saying she thought he was a peeping tom. A mate would call that a short fuse and a cruel streak when someone crosses her.
The good is real, though. Her Student of the Game fund covered the college tuition or loans of 37 fans in 2018, which is a lot of lives changed. That genuine generosity doesn't cancel her recent run, and for an LGBTQ+ family page the question is what she says about us and our trans mates now. On that, it's a no for the moment.