September 13, 2021 | 6:28pm
Alexa, play “Yikes” by Nicki Minaj.
The rap superstar, 38, revealed that she is not attending tonight’s Met Gala because guests are required to show proof of vaccination over the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. if I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met. It’ll be once I feel I’ve done enough research,” she wrote on Twitter. “I’m working on that now.”
She added, “In the meantime my loves, be safe. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grips your head & face. Not that loose one 🙏❤️”
It wasn’t long before a portion of Minaj’s ever-loyal Barbz urged her to rethink her stance on vaccines.
“nicki the vaccine doesn’t prevent getting covid, it prevents you getting serious symptoms,” one social media user wrote, echoing research from the CDC that shows vaccines are effective at keeping people from contracting fatal cases of COVID-19.
Still, Minaj doubled down. “Babe. That’s not true,” she replied before seemingly acknowledging that she previously caught the virus. “I had the exact same symptoms as ppl with the damn vaccine.”
The “Starships” singer later claimed that her cousin in Trinidad refuses to get the vaccine because “his friend got it & became impotent.”
“His testicles became swollen,” she alleged. “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.”
According to the CDC, the vaccine is safe and is not known to cause impotency nor genital swelling. Rather, it is known to maximize protection from emerging variants — including Delta — while possibly preventing the virus from spreading to others.
Minaj’s tweets came hours before the event was set to kick off at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Minaj also skipped Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards, saying she would “explain why another day;” it’s possible MTV’s event also had a vaccine mandate in place.
The hip-hop magnate and favorite of Anna Wintour’s has walked the Met Gala carpet five times before. Her most recent appearance came at 2019’s “Camp”-themed bash for which she wore a pastel pink Prabal Gurung number.
There was no 2020 Met Gala due to the pandemic. While the event typically takes place on the first Monday of May each year, this year’s edition — titled “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” — was postponed until today due to COVID-19 concerns.
Minaj isn’t the only celebrity to bail on this year’s party. Earlier today, Kylie Jenner — another Met Gala mainstay — opted to fly back to Los Angeles after a whirlwind trip to the Big Apple for New York Fashion Week.
“I’m so sad I couldn’t make it this year,” Jenner, 24, wrote in a post to her Instagram Story on Monday. “I can’t want to see all the looks.”
Page Six reported that the pregnant reality star — who is expecting her second child with Travis Scott — felt that attending would take too much time, effort and energy.
“Kylie’s pregnant and it’s a lot to take on, going to such a public event,” a source said.