Nicki Minaj apologizes to fans for postponing concert after Dutch arrest

CNN
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Rapper Nicki Minaj apologized to fans outside her Manchester hotel early Sunday morning for postponing a UK show after being arrested by Dutch authorities over allegations she was carrying drugs .

“I love you and I’m so sorry this happened tonight,” Minaj said in a video posted to social media.

Minaj previously revealed the name of her hotel in Manchester in an article on X and invited fans to see her. “I'm going to the balcony so if you're outside I'll be able to see you and I can come down. I'll be out for like an hour. Rlly (really) wanted to at least see you,” she said.

Although Minaj was released from police custody on Saturday evening, the concert, which was due to take place in Manchester that same evening, could not go ahead.

In a statement released by Live Nation and concert venue Co-op Live, organizers said they were “deeply disappointed” by the inconvenience caused.

“Despite Nicki's best efforts to explore all possible avenues for tonight's show to take place, today's events have made this impossible,” the statement released Saturday evening said.

In a video captured on the hip-hop artist's Instagram Live – which was later released online by various social media accounts – Minaj is heard speaking with police at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport while holding her phone with camera.

In the clip, Minaj mentions “the pre-rolls they found,” then she is seen getting out of her vehicle and being asked to get into a police van. When she asks why she is being asked to board the van, an official informs her that she is “under arrest”, later adding, for “transporting drugs”. Minaj responds, “I don’t carry drugs. »

Minaj repeatedly asks for the address of the police station and the presence of a lawyer throughout the clip, while the police ask her to stop filming.

When CNN contacted authorities in Amsterdam with Minaj's first name, Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, Dutch military police, known as the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, said they had arrested a 41-year-old American woman with “soft drugs” at Schiphol Airport.

Later on Saturday, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee said the woman detained in its custody “on suspicion of exporting soft drugs” had been released.

“After consultation with the public prosecutor, the suspect received a fine and is now authorized to continue her journey,” the press release continued.

CNN has reached out to Minaj's representatives for comment.

Minaj is currently on her Pink Friday 2 world tour in support of her latest album, released late last year. Minaj performed in Amsterdam on Thursday evening and is set to perform in Birmingham, UK on Sunday evening.

Another Nicki Minaj concert is planned at Co-op Live in Manchester on Thursday May 30.

CNN's Caitlin Danaher contributed to this report.