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\n <\/div><\/div> <\/p>\n (left)\u00a0Erika Kirk and Nicky Minaj (right). Design by Brenda Verano<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Last week, rapper<\/span>\u00a0Nicki Minaj<\/span><\/a> was the guest speaker at the last day of<\/span> Turning Point\u2019s \u201cAmericaFest\u201d (TPUSA)<\/span><\/a> conference that took place in Phoenix, Arizona.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today, a petition is circulating, already signed by over 18,000 people, calling for U.S. immigration authorities to review Minaj’s residency status in the United States. The Change.org<\/a> petition also calls for her deportation to her home country, Trinidad and Tobago, as a \u201cresponse to her harmful rhetoric.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Background\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The 43-year-old, Grammy-nominated artist, who has collaborated on songs with Latino artists including Karol G, Farruko, Bad Bunny, Romeo Santos, Anuel AA and Maluma, among others, said she was honored to attend the conservative conference founded<\/span> by Charlie Kirk<\/span><\/a>, who was killed earlier in September.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Minaj sat on stage with Kirk\u2019s wife, Erika Kirk, who took over as chief executive officer of TPUSA, addressing over 30,000 people, the majority of whom were youth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She began her time in the conference by rereading old tweets she wrote attacking\u00a0<\/span>California Governor Gavin Newsom<\/span><\/a>, whom she referred to as \u201cNewsscum.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cImagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids. Haha. Not even a trans ADULT would run on that. Normal adults wake up and think they want to see HEALTHY, SAFE, HAPPY kids,\u201d is one of the tweets Minaj read out loud in the conference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The sentence that followed was in support of President Donald Trump. \u201cI have the utmost respect and admiration for our president,\u201d she said. \u201cHe has given so many people hope to beat the bad guys and to win and do it with your head held high and your integrity intact.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Minaj, who has been nominated for\u00a0<\/span>12 Grammys<\/span><\/a> and is known for her savvy and her rapid-fire rap, addressed the thousands of youth present at the event, saying they had people to look up to in the administration, politically leading the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDear young men, you have amazing role models like our handsome, dashing president and you have amazing role models like the assassin JD Vance, our vice president,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Minaj, who in 2020 was a guest judge on the season 12 premiere of \u201cRuPaul\u2019s Drag Race,\u201d touched on gender identity, making controversial remarks during Sunday\u2019s conference. \u201cIf you are born a boy, be a boy,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s OK. Be boys. There\u2019s nothing wrong with being a boy. How powerful is that? How profound is that? Boys will be boys and there\u2019s nothing wrong with that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After these remarks, she received major criticism, much of that coming from her own fan base known as \u201cthe Barbz.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She has now deleted<\/span> her Instagram account after losing more than 10\u00a0 million followers in the last few days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the past, Minaj publicly talked about her own journey as an immigrant and her journey of moving to Queens, New York, when she was five years old.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2018, Minaj condemned Trump\u2019s zero-tolerance immigration policy in an Instagram post.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPlease stop this. Can you try to imagine the terror & panic these kids feel right now?\u201d she wrote in the post.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Six years later, as part of the almost\u00a0<\/span>30-minute interview<\/span><\/a>, Minaj told attendees, \u201cIt\u2019s OK to change your mind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
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