Nicki Minaj’s plans to perform for an excited crowd of fans at the U.K.’s biggest indoor venue, Co-op Live, in Manchester were foiled Saturday (May 25) afternoon.
The rapper was placed in custody by Dutch police on suspicion of possession of soft drugs after pre-rolled marijuana was located inside luggage belonging to her and crew at Schiphol Airport.
Minaj livestreamed and tweeted about the ordeal as it unfolded for all to see. At the time, she was waiting to board a 50-minute flight for the “Pink Friday 2 World Tour” stop. In part of the video, she insisted she did not have any contraband. She would later write, “Keep in mind they took my bags without my consent. My security has already advised them those pre-rolls belong to him,” and that she was asked to remove a post of her encounter with officials from social media, a request she denied.
“They’ve been trying to stop me from coming to every show. They took my bags before I could see them. Put it on the plane. Now [they’re] saying they’re waiting on customs. This is what it looks like when [people] are paid big money to try to sabotage a tour after all else [has] failed. Everything they’ve done is illegal,” she claimed on Instagram.
In the end, the “Super Bass” hitmaker said she spent between five and six hours in a jail cell before being released with a fine of 350 euros. In an update to her supporters, she shared, “So, they succeeded at their plan to not let me get on that stage tonight. I succeeded [at] getting to the root of it all by recording them [and] posting everything in real time… I’ll have the lawyers [and] God take it from here [though].”
Her show was slated to begin at 8 p.m., with doors opening to patrons at 7:30 p.m. Minaj plans to reschedule the performance for some time later this summer. However, the “Anaconda” lyricist did not let Saturday’s debacle deter her from keeping with her scheduled “Gag City” experience that will happen today (May 26) in Birmingham, England.
On Friday (May 24), she shared that her tour’s U.S. leg was extended and that pre-sale sign-ups were available. RSVPs for the upcoming dates that begin in September include stops in Cleveland, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York City and more.
The worldwide trek supports her latest album, of the same name, released in December. She started the tour in March, with special guest Monica tagging along for several successful shows.