Nicki Minaj's visit to Amsterdam before kicking off her Europe tour went awry on May 24 when the rapper was arrested at Schiphol Airport, charged with possessing soft drugs, which in the Netherlands means marijuana and hash.
She posted at Instagram:
"Now they said they found weed & that another group of ppl have to come here to weigh the pre-rolls. Keep in mind they took my bags without consent. My security has already advised them those pre-rolls belong to him. Oh yea & the pilot wants me to take my ig post down."
Another issue was Minaj filming the interaction with airport authorities. An official said they had to search all of her luggage. "They did a quick check, now they want to open..." Minaj asked why. "First of all, because you filmed hin," he said. "He doesn't believe that you don't have more with you than you say."
When she was asked to step into a police vehicle, Minaj asked for a lawyer: "Where am I going? What address is that?"
"It's five minutes away," he answered.
Minaj seemed most concerned about getting to Manchester in England for her concert that night.
"We will get you there," he promised.
"So, I am under arrest?"
"Yes."
"I'm under arrest for what?"
"Can you please stop filming and just step in the car for us?"
"No, because I need a lawyer, because I don't know where I'm going."
"You will get a lawyer at the office. If you just step in the car it will go as fast as possible."
MInaj then agreed and got in the vehicle.
After a brief invesigation by "the Public Prosecution Service, the suspect was fined and can continue her journey," it was reported. The fine or amount of cannabis confiscated were not noted.
While waiting to fly to England, Minaj posted:
“After sitting in a jail cell for 5-6 hours, my plane still didn’t take off for another 20 mins once I boarded. The flight was 50 mins. That’s why they had to do the big song & dance b/c they knew I’d still find a way to perform even if it came down to my last 90 mins in the building which would have been until 1130pm. The building was willing to go past 11pm. So grateful to them for that.
"They sure did know exactly how to hurt me today but this too, shall pass. They’ve been doing this over & over & over & over & over again & I’ve tried so hard to not discuss it b/c you guys deserve to just get the good stuff. I hate involving you in anything that isn’t for entertainment purposes only."
Minaj never did get to perform at Manchester's Co-Op Live venue on Friday night. She has another date there on May 30 and the postposed show will be rescheduled. The tour runs through July 14.
Born in Trinidad in 1982 as Onika Maraj, she was raised in New York City. All five of her albums have either charted No. 1 or No. 2, including her latest No. 1, Pink Friday. She's had nine Top 10 singles, including the No. 1 hits, "Super Freaky Girl," in 2022, and "Trollz in 2020. Minaj has 12 Grammy nominations since 2011, but no wins.
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