Nicki Minaj apologizes to fans after arrest in Amsterdam

Music

From Nicki Gostin

Nicki Minaj apologised to a crowd of fans gathered outside her Manchester hotel after she was forced to postpone a show.

“I love you and I'm sorry that this happened tonight,” the rapper said early Sunday morning, as seen in a video posted online.

Minaj, 41, was scheduled to perform at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on Saturday night as part of her “Pink Friday 2” tour.

However, she had to postpone the concert after she was arrested in Amsterdam on suspicion of drug possession.

Minaj has posted a barrage of comments and missives on X since the arrest, claiming she has “soooooooo much video evidence. You wouldn't believe it if I told you,” before noting, “But from now on I'm leaving it to the lawyers and GOD.”

Previously, in a post on X, she had announced the name of her hotel in Manchester and invited her fans to visit her.

“I'm going to go out on the balcony so I can see you when you're out. I might come downstairs too. I'll be out there for about an hour. I really wanted to at least see you,” the “Bang Bang” singer wrote.

She also wrote a letter thanking her fans “who prayed for me today… May you be blessed beyond your imagination.”

Minaj stated that she was held in a jail cell for “5-6 hours” and that her plane “didn't take off until 20 minutes after I boarded. The flight was 50 minutes.”

Hours before the cancellation was announced, Minaj livestreamed how police in Amsterdam informed her that she had been arrested for allegedly “contributing drugs.”

In the video, a police officer can be seen telling Minaj that she needs to stop recording and get into a police vehicle.

However, she refused and asked to speak to her lawyer. Finally, she calmly got into the car.

In another video, an officer told Minaj that all of her luggage would have to be searched because they suspected she was carrying more drugs.

“Now they said they found weed and another group of people had to come over to weigh the pre-rolled joints. Remember, they took my bags without my consent,” she wrote on X on Saturday morning.

“My security has already informed them that these pre-rolls belong to him. Oh, and the pilot wants me to delete my IG post.”

Minaj noted the irony of allegedly possessing marijuana in a country where it is legal.

This is Amsterdam, by the way, where weed is legal,” she wrote.

The “Queen of Rap” suspected that her old management company could be behind the arrest.

“All because I fired a manager who I found out had been adding $30-50,000 to my jet for years and pocketing it all,” she claimed. “I recently fired a tour manager who did the same thing and was furious that he got kicked out. Their goal is to make me show up late and pocket $40,000.”

Authorities in Amsterdam confirmed via X on Saturday afternoon that Minaj had been released after being arrested and fined “on suspicion of exporting soft drugs.”

Minaj also retweeted posts about singer Ari Lennox, who was arrested at Amsterdam airport in 2021 after authorities claimed she was “full of emotion” and arrested for disturbing public order.

“She was 'full of emotion'. She got arrested for being full of emotion in Amsterdam,” Minaj wrote. “Hmmmmm, interesting. I didn't know that was a 'thing' there.”

The “Barbie World” hitmaker then compared Lennox to Sandra Bland, a black woman who was found hanged in a Texas prison cell three days after she was arrested during a traffic stop.

“Who stood up for her? Could have easily been another Sandra Bland incident. I'm so glad she got out of there alive and well.”

Minaj is scheduled to perform in Manchester on Thursday, May 30.