Nicki Minaj has reached out to fans in Saudi Arabia after announcing her decision to pull out of headlining the Jeddah World Fest on Tuesday (09Jul19).
The Megatron rapper came under fire from human rights activists for agreeing to perform in the conservative nation, where the rights of women and members of the LGBTQ community are still severely limited under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
After announcing she had withdrawn from the festival’s billing “for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression”, the 36-year-old took to Instagram to learn more about how her fans were feeling, posting: “Saudi Arabia: I see some of your comments & I want to respond directly to my fans. Voice your opinions here.”
The post amassed more than 15,000 comments within the first hour, as fans pleaded with the rapper to reconsider her decision.
“Please don’t let us down,” wrote one user, as the Anaconda hitmaker replied, “I love you guys. Can women go to the concert without a man? Pls (please) answer.”
The star received mixed responses; one fan insisted “yes lol the media fabricated everything”, while another wrote, “not without a guardian… sad”.
Nicki also inquired about LGBTQ rights in the country, posting: “Can an openly gay person go to the concert without being arrested?”
While users revealed LGBTQ fans could only attend “undercover”, one told the star, “queen (they’re) stoning us here”, prompting her to write: “stoning you for what? That’s insane.”
Other fans asked her to direct message them to discuss the situation further, to which the Starships hitmaker responded with “ok” and heart emojis.

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