Nicki Minaj apologises for postponed show after video appears to show arrest

Rapper Nicki Minaj apologised to fans in Manchester, England, for postponing a show scheduled in the city for Saturday night after footage posted to one of her social media accounts appeared to show her being arrested by Dutch authorities for drug possession.

The live Instagram video, captured by CNN and shared more broadly, is no longer available on Minaj’s account. It appears to show Minaj, who had performed Thursday in Amsterdam, being directed toward a van by law enforcement officers.

“You’re under arrest,” one of the officers says in the video, informing Minaj that she will be taken to the police station. When Minaj asks why, he responds, “because you’re carrying drugs.”

The video then shows Minaj denying the accusation and repeatedly requesting a lawyer before eventually stepping into the van. Another video posted to her Instagram account appears to show a man telling Minaj that her luggage will need to be searched.

Neither the Dutch Police nor the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, a branch of the Dutch military, would respond to questions about potential charges against Minaj when reached by phone late Sunday evening.

Minaj has since been released and is continuing the Pink Friday 2 World Tour, according to posts and videos shared by the tour account.

On Saturday, the Co-op Live arena in Manchester said in a statement that Minaj’s show scheduled for that evening had been postponed. “Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible,” the venue said. “We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”

Minaj also apologised to fans in a statement, saying that she had sat in a jail cell for five to six hours.

“Please please please accept my deepest & most sincere apologies. They sure did know exactly how to hurt me today but this too, shall pass,” Minaj said, noting that she would make up the date for the performance in either June or July.

On Sunday, another video posted to X showed Minaj meeting with screaming fans outside her hotel in Manchester. The footage shows two men repeatedly trying to hush the crowd, warning that if they did not calm down then she would go inside.

“I can honestly tell you that I love you,” she said.