'Deeply Disappointed': Nicki Minaj Apologizes for Postponing England Show After She Was Detained at Amsterdam Airport
May 26 2024, Published 11:00 a.m. ET
Nicki Minaj was recently detained at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands for alleged possession of drugs, leading to the rapper apologizing to her fans after her England show had to be postponed at the last minute.
The Dutch police reported to NBC News that they had arrested a 41-year-old American woman at the airport but didn't name who they had detained.
Subsequently, the police shared a statement saying they had "released" the woman on suspicion of exporting drugs after consulting with the Public Prosecution Service, with the suspect being fined and allowed to continue her journey. The suspect turned out to be none other than Minaj, who had to cancel her show that night.
Minaj, who is currently on her Pink Friday 2 World Tour in Europe, documented the encounter with officials on social media.
In a video posted on Instagram, an official is heard mentioning drugs, which she denied. Despite her protests and request for legal representation, she was eventually taken into custody.
The incident led to the postponement of Minaj's scheduled show in Manchester, with Live Nation announcing that the performance would be rescheduled.
“Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible,” Live Nation said in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”
“I love you, and I’m so sorry this happened tonight,” Minaj said in a video shared by a fan account on social media.
The rapper expressed disappointment over the inconvenience caused to her fans and assured them that the show would be made up for on another date.
Minaj, in her social media posts, expressed frustration over the situation, alleging that people were trying to sabotage her tour.
She criticized the handling of her belongings and the delays caused by the authorities at the airport and claimed that less than five grams of marijuana, which is legal to possess in Amsterdam, was the cause of the ordeal.
"Now they said they found weed and that another group of ppl have to come here to weigh the pre-rolls. Keep in mind they took my bags without consent," the rapper shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, to her 28.1 million followers. "My security has already advised them those pre-rolls belong to him. Oh yea & the pilot wants me to take my ig post down."
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Following her release, Minaj shared her ordeal of spending hours in a jail cell and the consequent flight delay, expressing gratitude for the support from the venue where her show was to take place.
She reassured her fans of her commitment to reschedule the performance and promised additional surprises for ticket holders.