The White House has offered Nicki Minaj the chance to speak with one of its doctors after the rapper expressed concerns about getting a COVID-19 vaccine in a series of viral tweets earlier this week.
In expressing her hesitancy earlier this week, Minaj tweeted that she had a "cousin in Trinidad" that became impotent after receiving a dose and that his "testicles became swollen."
Minaj's claim was quickly shot down by the Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Health, Terrence Deyalsingh. At a press conference, he said that the country had not received any reports of testicular swelling linked to vaccine use.
"What was sad about this is that it wasted our time yesterday, trying to track down, because we take all these claims seriously," Deyalsingh said, according to CBS News.
In an appearance on CNN, Dr. Anthony Fauci also disputed Minaj's claim.
"There's no evidence that it happens, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen," Fauci said. "So the answer to your question is no."
Later on Wednesday, Minaj tweeted that she had been invited to the White House and "yes, I am going."
The White House has invited me & I think it’s a step in the right direction. Yes, I’m going. I’ll be dressed in all pink like Legally Blonde so they know I mean business. I’ll ask questions on behalf of the ppl who have been made fun of for simply being human. #BallGate day 3 https://t.co/PSa3WcEjH3
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) September 15, 2021
On Thursday morning, the White House clarified to The Associated Press, CNN and CBS News that it had not extended an invitation for Minaj to visit the White House. Instead, officials said that she had been invited to speak with Biden administration doctors who would personally address her questions about the vaccine.
Minaj has since been temporarily locked out of her Twitter account for violating the site's policy on COVID-19 misinformation. In an Instagram story on Wednesday, Minaj said she was in "Twitter jail" and that she "couldn't tweet."