Nicki Minaj canceled a tour in Amsterdam days after she was arrested there for marijuana possession. The ‘Super Bass’ singer said she felt ‘inhuman’ during her encounter with Dutch police.
🚨What just happened?
Less than a week after the artist’s arrest on May 25 at Schiphol Airport – for which she was fined and released – she canceled a second tour stop there, at the Ziggo Dome, scheduled for June 2.
“Due to the events of last week, the Nicki Minaj show… will no longer take place,” concert promoter Mojo announced on its website. “Tickets will be refunded at the point of sale.”
This is Minaj’s second show affected by the arrest, which the Trinidad-born rapper streamed on social media. She had flown from Amsterdam to Manchester, England, for a show scheduled for the night of her arrest, which had to be postponed. This will be moved to June 3.
Minaj said at Stationhead this week that she felt “inhuman” during her interaction with police, who claimed to find marijuana in her luggage. She felt there was racial discrimination behind the stop, saying it felt even worse “knowing that something is being done to you on purpose simply because you are a confident other race. The treatment was simply disgusting and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
While Minaj canceled the Amsterdam show, she announced this week that she is adding 22 more US dates Pink Friday 2 World Tour.
↩️ How we got here
Minaj kicked off the European leg of her tour in Amsterdam on May 23. At the airport on the way to the next stop two days later, authorities claimed to have found “soft drugs” in her luggage.
Minaj, who recorded the interaction, was told by officers that she was under arrest for possessing drugs. She was heard demanding a lawyer. She said on social media that her bags had been taken without permission and claimed the ‘pre-rolls’ of ‘weed’ belonged to a member of her security.
Minaj was placed in a police vehicle cell before being taken to a local police station. The BBC reported that she was eventually fined 350 euros ($380) and sent away. (Police posted a statement about the arrest, without naming Minaj.) Minaj said the arrest lasted five to six hours, causing her to miss her next show. When she reached Manchester that evening, she invited fans via social media to meet her outside her hotel so she could apologise.
Minaj claimed there was a conspiracy to sabotage her tour, writing on social media with the untitled caption:[people] I’m mad it’s so successful” and “was caught stealing money from my travel/jets. Dismissed.”
Minaj’s tour runs from now through October. It is her biggest tour to date in support of her album Pink Friday 2, which was released in December. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, making her the female rapper with the most No. 1 albums, and was well received by critics.
