Nicki Minaj held a bizarre ‘moment of silence’ for her ‘dear friend’ Princess Diana during her Birmingham tour date on Sunday night.
The singer, 41, was performing at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham amid her current European tour where she made reference to the late royal who died in 1997.
It was presumably a nod to Nicki’s 2023 hit song Princess Diana featuring rapper Ice Spice.
It comes amid a tumultuous time for the star following a drug arrest in Amsterdam last week.
The rapper had to be reschedule her show at cursed music venue Co-op Live in Manchester after she was arrested on suspicion of possessing soft drugs in the Netherlands on Saturday.
Nicki Minaj held a bizarre ‘moment of silence’ for her ‘dear friend’ Princess Diana during her Birmingham tour date on Sunday night
The singer, 41, was performing at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham amid her current European tour where she made reference to the late royal who died in 1997
But she was back on stage in the Midlands on Sunday night where she gave the nod to British royalty.
She put on a fake British accent and asked the cheering crowd to give a moment of silence for Princess Diana – who died 26 years ago in a car crash in Paris.
Nicki said in footage shared on Twitter: ‘Wales – it always reminds me of a dear friend of mine, well she’s not here anymore, but the Princess of Wales.
‘Let’s have a moment of silence for her.’
Despite the connection to her 2023 song Princess Diana, those on Twitter were left baffled by the shout out after the video circulated.
They said: ‘A dear friend of mine… She was 14 when Diana died…’,
‘The way the minute’s silence was 3 and a half seconds.’,
‘Nicki Minaj calling Princess Diana ‘a dear friend of mine’ and holding a moments silence for her is so unserious.’,
It comes after on Sunday Nicki announced a new date for her show at cursed music venue Co-op Live after her planned performance was cancelled following her drug arrest.
It was presumably a nod to Nicki’s 2023 hit song Princess Diana featuring rapper Ice Spice
She put on a fake British accent and asked the cheering crowd to give a moment of silence for Princess Diana – who died 26 years ago in a car crash in Paris
Despite the connection to her 2023 song Princess Diana, those on Twitter were left baffled by the shout out after the video circulated
One said: ‘Nicki Minaj calling Princess Diana ‘a dear friend of mine’ and holding a moments silence for her is so unserious’
It comes after on Sunday Nicki announced a new date for her show at cursed music venue Co-op Live after her planned performance was cancelled following her drug arrest
Fans were let into the venue for the show despite the star’s arrest, with the venue later telling ticketholders the show had been postponed at 9.40pm – over three hours after its original planned start time.
However Nicki has now reassured fans that the May 25 gig has been rescheduled for Monday June 3.
Sharing the news on X, formerly Twitter, Nicki said: ‘OK guys, I was JUST RE-ADVISED that we actually CAN NOT do any other date for the make up #gagcityMANCHESTER date besides JUNE 3rd.
‘So JUNE 3rd is the new official date for all ticket holders who originally had tickets to the MAY 25th #Manchester show.
‘I apologise for all the inconvenience this has caused. I really hope you can make the #JUNE3rd show. It’ll be really special. Ticketmaster will contact you to advise officially. Love you.’
Nicki said she spent around six hours in custody at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Saturday before being able to fly to the UK.
The American singer, known for the songs Starships, Super Bass and Anaconda, had been due to take to the stage at 6.30pm, but this was initially pushed back to 7pm.
Thousands of fans were let into the newly-opened Manchester venue at around that time on Saturday for her show.
However this was despite the star being detained on suspicion of possessing soft drugs at Schiphol Airport. She was released from custody a few hours later.
Nicki, who live-streamed her arrest on social media, was fined and eventually allowed to go free by police shortly before 9pm – hours after her show was due to begin.
Footage emerged of supporters queuing up in the hours before the scheduled gig, chanting ‘Free Nicki Minaj’ as they held onto hope that the star would be allowed to fly to the UK in time to perform.
Promoter Live Nation then announced at around 9.40pm that the show was not to go ahead.
‘Nicki Minaj’s scheduled performance at Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday 25th May has been postponed,’ a statement online said.
‘Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance which will be announced ASAP.
‘Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible.’
It added: ‘We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused. More information will be available at your point of purchase.’
Footage from inside Co-op Live, which is the UK’s biggest indoor arena with a capacity of 23,500, showed fans waiting patiently for the star to arrive – despite seemingly receiving no updates on her whereabouts.
When the announcement was finally made, fans were heard booing and shouting in disbelief, with organisers saying they were ‘deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused’.
Dutch police said a woman aged 41 was arrested on Saturday after allegedly trying to take what it described as ‘soft drugs’ from Schiphol Airport to another country.
A later update from the force said it had released the ‘suspect and she can now move on’ after paying a fine.
Nicki had praised fans for being a ‘class act’ during the last minute postponement.
It is the latest complication to hit the problem-plagued Co-Op Live Arena, which suffered a string of cancellations when it was due to open last month.
Headaches for Co-op Arena emerged after capacity for a test event was reduced with just hours’ notice.
Rick Astley did perform at the arena, however, and there were reports on social media that the event was a success.
Yet more issues came when comedian Peter Kay’s performances were postponed with less than 48 hours’ notice.
General manager Gary Roden resigned days after this announcement on April 25.
Peter Kay and The Black Keys both had to reschedule dates because of the venue not being ‘ready’.
Peter’s original dates were shifted to April 29 and 30, with the comedian writing on social media that he was ‘truly gutted’ for his fans. However the gigs were then moved to May 23 and May 24, which he said was ‘very disappointing but your safety is important, and I won’t compromise that’ on X, formerly Twitter.
The new date for the US rock band The Black Keys became May 15 and in a statement, Co-op Live also said that there was ‘reassurance’ for fans that dates for US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, real name Julius Dubose, on May 1, and American singer Olivia Rodrigo’s performances on May 3 and 4 would be going ahead.
Sadly both A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Olivia Rodrigo dates were then postponed.
This was just over an hour before A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was set to perform, with the venue saying that there was a problem during the soundcheck.
A component of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system used to direct air had separated from the ductwork, and the installer, contractor and third-party inspector would now have to test each nozzle to confirm they are free from the defect, the Oak View Group said.
She’s had to reschedule the Manchester gig after she was arrested on suspicion of possessing soft drugs in the Netherlands on Saturday
However Nicki has since reassured fans that the May 25 gig has been rescheduled for Monday June 3
Nicki said she spent around six hours in custody at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Saturday before being able to fly to the UK
Two hours after cancelling A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, the venue then said that Rodrigo’s gigs would not go ahead on May 3 and 4.
Take That said they would be moving their May shows from the Co-op Live to the AO Arena because of ‘ongoing technical issues’ and earlier that day another band, Keane, announced their May 5 gig at the venue had been postponed thanks to issues that were ‘entirely beyond our control’.
The venue said it would be taking ‘a short pause to events at Co-op Live to fully ensure the safety and security of fans and artists visiting the venue’.
However, the UK’s biggest arena had live music on May 14, when British rock band Elbow took to the stage – only for the venue to then be hit with the news of Nicki’s arrest days later.