Music News

Nicki Minaj confirmed that she will be speaking at an upcoming event with U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz about the alleged religious persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Time magazine correspondent Eric Cordellessa broke the news regarding Minaj and Waltz’s event slated for Tuesday (Nov. 18).

“U.S. envoy to the UN @michaelgwaltz and rap superstar @NICKIMINAJ will deliver remarks early this week on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria,” he wrote on Sunday (Nov. 16). “The unexpected collaboration was arranged by Trump advisor @AlexBruesewitz, who will also speak at the Tuesday event.”

Waltz called Minaj “arguably the greatest female recording artist” and a “principled individual” who has refused to “remain silent in the face of injustice.”

“I’m grateful she’s leveraging her massive platform to spotlight the atrocities against Christians in Nigeria,” he added. “And I look forward to standing with her as we discuss the steps the President and his administration are taking to end the persecution of our Christian brothers and sisters.”

The Young Money rapper responded to Waltz on X, explaining that she will “never stand down in the face of injustice.”

“Ambassador, I am so grateful to be entrusted with an opportunity of this magnitude,” she replied. “I do not take it for granted. It means more than you know. The Barbz & I will never stand down in the face of injustice. We’ve been given our influence by God. There must be a bigger purpose.”

Earlier in November, Minaj responded to Trump’s comments regarding Christianity “facing an existential threat” in Nigeria.

“Reading this made me feel a deep sense of gratitude. We live in a country where we can freely worship God. No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion,” she wrote. “We don’t have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other. Numerous countries all around the world are being affected by this horror & it’s dangerous to pretend we don’t notice. Thank you to The President & his team for taking this seriously. God bless every persecuted Christian. Let’s remember to lift them up in prayer.”

Nigeria’s population of 220 million is split about evenly between Christians and Muslims. Trump previously said he planned to add the West African nation to the list of “Countries of Particular Concern” and has threatened to take military action against the nation.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” the president wrote on Truth Social.

A Nigerian presidential spokesman told The Associated Press that the U.S. can not “carry out any military operation” in Nigeria over the claims of religious persecution of Christians. Spokesman Daniel Bwala added that this is “Trump’s style of going forceful in order to force a sit-down and have a conversation.”

The Associated Press also found that location plays a heavier factor for murder victims rather than the individual’s religion in Nigeria. “There is no systematic, intentional attempt either by the Nigerian government or by any serious group to target a particular religion,” Information Minister Idris Muhammed told The Associated Press, while downplaying reports of religious persecution.

Similarly, over the weekend a group of prominent white Afrikaners in South Africa pushed back against what Trump has claimed is a “white genocide” in the majority black nation under the “Not in Our Name” banner. They refuted Trump’s repeated claims that the nation’s minority group is facing an “existential threat” as his administration has prioritized resettling white South Africans over refugees from other war-torn nations fleeing well-documented persecution and threats to their lives.