Nicki Minaj criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci over his approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic after his contentious session with a U.S. Senate committee last week.
Minaj, 43, expressed her disapproval on Thursday, July 30, through a tweet. “Feeding tubes will be his portion,” she wrote. “He will lose the ability to speak & then & only then will he feel the collective pain & long term ramifications he caused to newborns, young children who are still trying to become acclimated into society & schools, traumatized pregnant women who couldn’t even have family in the delivery rooms & visits, the elderly who died alone & afraid, young people still struggling with mental health, suicide, people turned away from hospitals at their most vulnerable moments, the trust that is now gone from innocent people toward their governments forever, billions of stolen money from hard working tax payers via con artists.”
Minaj brought back a previous news article from 2021 where Fauci, then 85, advised her to reconsider spreading vaccine skepticism. (At that point, Fauci was close to retiring from his long-standing role as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.)
Mocking Fauci, the “Starships” rapper shared an AI-created image depicting him in a pink and purple striped sweater writing in a diary. This image appeared to satirize Fauci’s COVID-19 pandemic-era journals, which were recently disclosed by Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul.
“I’ve been struggling to find the humor in any of this,” Minaj noted in her tweet. “God bless everyone who made it to the other side. You’re stronger than you thought. God is in control.”
She shared a video via X where she again imitated Fauci writing in his diary.
“They say I’m sexier than Tyra Banks. Julia Roberts gasped when she saw how handsome I was. Brad Pitt played me on SNL,” Minaj joked.
She continued, “Never mind that I sent millions of children back years on their education … The elderly are alone and afraid, dying by themselves. If anyone asks questions, me and my gang ruins their lives.”
During his appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led by Rep. Paul, 63, on Wednesday, July 29, Fauci repeatedly cited the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering aggressive questions from Republicans. Lawmakers, including Rep. Rich McCormick from Georgia, have suggested legislation to prevent Fauci from serving in government again.
Conservative commentator Meghan McCain intensified the political tension by suggesting that Fauci should be jailed during the heated Senate session.
Republicans have criticized Fauci’s support for vaccines, social distancing, and mask mandates during the pandemic. As a precaution against possible repercussions from the new Donald Trump administration, former president Joe Biden granted Fauci a preemptive pardon in January 2025, covering all his federal work from January 1, 2014, to January 19, 2025.
Fauci still has staunch supporters who praise his nearly four decades of public health leadership as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (Throughout his tenure from 1984 to 2022, he enjoyed bipartisan support. He also briefly served as Biden’s chief medical advisor.)
On Wednesday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, host Andy Cohen commended Fauci for enduring intense questioning during the hearing.
“It is time for my Mazel of the Day,” Cohen, 58, told viewers. “It goes to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who spent over three hours today being grilled, berated, and sworn at by Senate Republicans over the imaginary crimes they want you to believe he committed during his management of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
He continued, “This is the same Dr. Fauci who was a devoted public servant for 54 years and led the federal response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic as the main architect of PEPFAR [a government initiative to battle AIDS]. His courageous work is responsible for saving over 26 million lives around the world.”
“Our country is facing serious problems,” Cohen added. “We’re in a war with no end in sight. Prices are skyrocketing. We can’t even eat lettuce, for God’s sake. And to declare a war on science at a time like this is deeply unserious and dangerous.”
The WWHL host concluded, “Maybe our politicians are just jealous because doctors and scientists do the one thing they can’t ever seem to do: fix something. Thank you, Dr. Fauci.”
