White House offers to call Nicki Minaj after misinformed vaccine tweet goes viral
CBC
The White House offered Wednesday to connect Nicki Minaj with one of the Biden administration's doctors to address her questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, after the Trinidadian-born rapper's erroneous tweet alleging the vaccine causes impotence went viral.
The White House said that they've offered such calls with others concerned about the vaccine, part of an aggressive public relations campaign to beat back rampant disinformation about the vaccine's safety and effectiveness.
Minaj tweeted Wednesday that "the White House has invited me" and "yes, I'm going," but a White House official said the rapper was simply offered a call.
Minaj made headlines earlier this week when she noted in a tweet to her more than 22.6 million followers that the Met Gala required attendees to be vaccinated, and that she wouldn't get the shot until "I feel I've done enough research."
She later issued a tweet sharing an unverified story about a cousin's friend in Trinidad. Minaj asserted the unidentified individual "became impotent" and "his testicles became swollen" after receiving the shot.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious disease expert, dismissed the claim as misinformation during an interview Tuesday on CNN.
"There's no evidence that it happens, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen," he said.
