Nicki Minaj’s Pink City 2 tour has been tumultuous. The American rapper’s European tour suffered a setback following her arrest in Amsterdam for possession of soft drugs, which she vehemently denied. After a brief period in custody, she was released, but the situation forced the cancellation of her Manchester show, leaving fans disappointed. However, determined to win back her British audience, Nicki’s Birmingham show went pretty well. In a surprise move, the rapper paid tribute to one of Britain’s beloved figures – Princess Diana.
Nicki Minaj honors Princess Diana
During Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 Tour, which took place at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, the singer took a poignant moment in memory of the late Princess Diana. Despite being just 14 years old when Diana passed away, Minaj called her her ‘dear friend’. With the crowd cheering around her, Nicki urged everyone to observe a minute of silence in memory of the late princess, who tragically died nearly 26 years ago. Stopping the concert for a moment, Nicki sang out in her best British accent, “Wales – it always reminds me of a dear friend of mine, well she’s not here anymore, but the Princess of Wales is. Let’s have a moment of silence for her.”
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Nicki Minaj remembers Diana calling her a ‘dear friend’
Although the crowd may have considered this gesture cute or confusing, it did not go down well with netizens. They were clearly surprised when the rapper called the beloved princess his ‘dear friend’. Many speculated that this shout-out was possibly a reference to Nicki’s 2023 hit song Princess Diana, which also featured rapper Ice Spice. The theme of the song is about being royalty and getting respect in your life like Princess Diana.
Sharing the clip, a fan wrote: “Nicki Minaj leading a minute’s silence for Princess Diana is something I’ve never seen in my life but for us Di fans it’s an absolute must see. Beautiful.” The comments section was soon filled with divided opinions. “By the way the minute’s silence was 3 and a half seconds.” “A dear friend of mine… she was 14 when Diana died.” “Why does she have an English accent?”
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Nicki Minaj apologizes for Manchester show
Nicki’s detention at the airport was the most talked about event of the day. During the live stream, she was approached by officers and requested her cooperation with a bag check, which Nicki alleged was pre-planned. The incident led to the cancellation of her scheduled performance at the Co-op Live Arena on Saturday. She was released after paying a €350 fine and allowed to resume her tour. She announced her upcoming performance at the Manchester venue the following Monday via social media, writing, “I apologize for all the inconvenience this has caused. I really hope you can make it to the show on June 3. It will be really special.”
According to Dutch police, the rapper was found with 30 to 100 grams of marijuana, but she claimed it belonged to a security guard. “I will let the lawyers and God handle this case,” she wrote on X. “They knew very well how to reach me today, but this too shall pass.”
