Nicki Minaj Amsterdam show canceled after drug arrest, authorities deny racism
Nicki Minaj’s Sunday show in Amsterdam has been canceled a week after she was arrested for allegedly “carrying drugs,” as local law enforcement deny she was targeted due to race.
The cancellation of her show, part of the rapper’s “Pink Friday 2 World Tour,” was announced on concert promoter Mojo’s website in both Dutch and English statements.
“Due to the events of last week, the Nicki Minaj show on Sunday, 2nd June at Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam will no longer be taking place,” the statement reads. “Tickets will be refunded at the point of sale.”
The move comes after the “Anaconda” rapper, 41, was arrested outside Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport while traveling to the U.K. last Saturday after prerolled joints were allegedly found in her luggage.
Minaj, who denied the allegation, detailed the ordeal on social media. In an Instagram Live video, she showed authorities ordering her into a transport van and informing her that she’d be able to contact an attorney once at the police precinct.
Dutch police, who fined Minaj 350 euros ($380), denied that what she dubbed “disgusting” treatment was in any way racially motivated — as the “Super Bass” artist suggested.
“We arrested her when we found dozens of joints in her luggage. [Minaj] was already released four hours after arrest in consultation with the prosecutor, and after payment of a fine,” a spokesperson for the Dutch military police told outlet NOS on Friday. “It’s annoying that she drew that [race] card.”
Noting that it’s “illegal to take drugs to another country” — though marijuana is legally permitted to be sold in Amsterdam coffee shops — a police spokesperson told the BBC News “it is protocol to search luggage and arrest a person when we find drugs.”
“We stand for a professional organisation that treats everybody equal, no matter what,” the spokesperson said.
Minaj was en route to England for several scheduled performances, including one in Manchester that night, which was ultimately canceled as thousands of fans were in the arena awaiting her arrival.
