Nicki Minaj is making headlines after publicly praising Elon Musk during SpaceX’s latest Starship launch event in Texas. While attending the event at Musk’s Starbase facility, Minaj told the crowd, “Major shoutout to Elon. Thank you for everything that you’re doing for humanity.”
The SpaceX launch did not go as planned. The company came close to launching its newest and largest Starship rocket, but technical problems stopped the countdown about 40 seconds before liftoff. The 12th test flight has now been delayed until Friday. Reports also said the launch was supposed to introduce a third version of SpaceX’s giant rocket system from a new launch pad at the company’s Starbase location.
Minaj’s appearance comes after her affiliation with the current president of the United States. Over the past few months, she has faced backlash online for publicly supporting Donald Trump and agreeing with several right-wing political views.
Some newer fans say her political opinions make them like her more. Others, especially longtime fans who disagree with conservative politics, have said they are disappointed and confused by what they see as a big change from her earlier public image.
Reactions online to her Elon Musk comments were split almost immediately. Some people praised her for supporting technology and space exploration, while others accused her of supporting controversial billionaires and political figures just for attention.
“Dear old Nicki, please call back,” one person wrote.
“Not yall mad she’s going see a rocket launch with her family,” another person defended.
Even with the backlash, Minaj has continued to openly share her political opinions and does not seem interested in taking back her support for either Trump or Musk. Whether people agree with her or not, she continues to dominate the hip-hop industry and be a topic of conversation.
