Even Trinidad’s Health Minister Is Skeptical About Nicki Minaj’s ‘Swollen Balls’ Vaccine Horror Story

While it was easy enough to tell that Nicki Minaj’s tweet featuring a cousin’s vaccine horror story probably wasn’t true based on its junior high urban myth-level sourcing, a new report cast even more aspersions on the likely tall tale by citing one important missing factor. When even Tucker Carlson doesn’t believe you, it might be time to issue a retraction.

Nicki’s story cited her cousin in Trinidad, who told her that his friend’s wedding was canceled by his adverse reaction to a COVID vaccine — swollen testicles and impotence. However, the Health Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Dr. Terrence Deyalsingh, refuted the claim at a press conference, explaining that, “We could not respond in real-time yesterday to Ms. Minaj [because] we had to check and make sure that what she was claiming was either true or false. We did, and unfortunately, we wasted so much time yesterday running down this false claim. As far as we know, at this point in time, there has been no such reported side effect or adverse event.”

He further lamented the cost of the investigation in both time and effort, which could have gone to shoring up real COVID defenses that would actually help people. His comments echoed those of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who also had to debunk the AOL chain letter rumor-quality anecdote in an interview with Jake Tapper. Meanwhile, CNC3 Television in Port of Spain, Trinidad also had some thoughts on the tweet, directly admonishing Nicki for misusing her platform. Props for calling it a “Bacchanal story.”

Seriously, though, Nicki’s cousin’s friend — if he even exists — should probably seek treatment for what sounds like a sexually transmitted disease… and then get the damn vaccine. I have no advice on repairing his relationship; next time, wear a condom or something. As for Nicki, a good prescription would be another social media hiatus… and getting the damn vaccine.