Nicki Minaj‘s name has been used for a new vaccine bill introduced by a controversial congressman.
George Santos, the U.S. representative for New York’s third congressional district who has a history of misleading the public, announced The Minaj Act on Monday (April 17) to “establish a development period for new vaccines in order to generate public confidence.”
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Reporter Kadia Goba tweeted: “Ahem. Rep. George Santos just dropped seven bills in the hopper. Among them, The Minaj Act, named for — yes, you guessed it — rapper Nikki [sic] Minaj that establishes a development period for new vaccines in order to generate public confidence.”
Nicki has yet to address the bill.
Nicki Minaj previously tweeted her concerns about getting the COVID-19 vaccine in September 2021 relating to Met Gala rules.
“They want you to get vaccinated for the Met,” she wrote at the time. “if I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met. It’ll be once I feel I’ve done enough research. I’m working on that now. In the meantime my loves, be safe. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grips your head & face. Not that loose one.”
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Shortly after, she received backlash for a tweet that claimed her cousin’s friend suffered swollen testicles as a result of getting the vaccine.
“My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent,” she said. “His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied.”
Public health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci later debunked Nicki Minaj’s comments during an interview with CNN.
“The only way we know to counter mis and disinformation is to provide a lot of correct information and to essentially debunk these kinds of claims, which may be innocent on her part,” he said.
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“I’m not blaming her for anything. But she should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis except a one-off anecdote. And that’s not what science is all about.”
