Experts Blast Nicki Minaj For Swollen Testicle COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effect Claims

Health experts have slammed rapper Nicki Minaj after she claimed that COVID-19 vaccines could cause swollen testicles.

Minaj, who has 22.6 million followers on Twitter, on Monday posted that his cousin in Trinidad refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine because it could cause impotence in men.

“My cousin in Trinidad won’t get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent. His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding,” Minaj wrote. “So just pray on it & make sure you’re comfortable with ur decision, not bullied.”

The post, which has been retweeted more than 23,000 times as of Wednesday night, made waves across the world and attracted backlash from government health officials and experts, including White House infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci who urged the rapper to “think twice” before sharing vaccine misinformation.

“There is no evidence that it happens, nor is there any mechanistic reason to imagine that it would happen,” Fauci told CNN's Jake Tapper on Tuesday when asked whether any of the U.S.-approved vaccines affected fertility in men or women.

"There's a lot of misinformation, mostly on social media, and the only way we know to counter mis (sic) and disinformation is to provide a lot of correct information,” he added. “I'm not blaming her for anything but she should be thinking twice about propagating information that really has no basis."

Dr. Amanda Adeleye, who specializes in reproductive medicine and infertility treatments at UChicago Medicine, also addressed Minaj’s claims, noting that it was not “evidence-based.”

“I saw the tweets. I admire Nicki Minaj as a musician. She got a brilliant musical mind but I was really disappointed to see the comments,” she told ABC 7 Chicago.

Health officials in Trinidad, the rapper’s home country, also took to social media to debunk the star’s claim. They also slammed Minaj as her tweet sent the Health Ministry on a wild goose chase searching for the man she claimed became impotent after receiving the vaccine.

“As far as we know at this point in time, there has been no such reported either side effect or adverse event,” Dr. Terrence Deyalsingh, health minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, said in a press conference. “And what was sad about this is that it wasted our time yesterday trying to track down because we take all these claims seriously, whether it’s on social media, or mainstream media.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, currently, there isn’t any evidence that “any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men.”

Joy Reid, an MSNBC host, also blasted the rapper after she tweeted that she decided not to get vaccinated until she had "done enough research" despite contracting COVID-19 while preparing for the 2021 MTV VMAs.

"I have 2 million followers ... you have 22 million followers on Twitter. For you to use your platform to encourage our community to not protect themselves and save their lives ... my God sister, you could do better than that," Reid said.

Minaj later responded by calling out Reid for "spread a false narrative." In a subsequent tweet, she referred to a 2018 incident where Reid was accused of posting homophobic blog materials about LGBTQ people.

"This is what happens when you’re so thirsty to down another black woman (by the request of the white man), that you didn’t bother to read all my tweets," Minaj wrote.

Minaj later tweeted that she recommends getting vaccinated and that she's likely to get vaccinated before she goes on another tour.

"A lot of countries won’t let ppl work w/o the vaccine. I’d def recommend they get the vaccine. They have to feed their families. I’m sure I’ll b vaccinated as well cuz I have to go on tour, etc," she wrote.