Fans have been shocked by Nicki Minaj’s behavior recently, with many turning away from the rapper in protest. But even with the loss of many fans, she’s doubling down on her support of President Donald Trump and his message.
And sadly, the most recent behavior was seen as Nicki Minaj hurls a homophobic slur at Don Lemon before his arrest over his coverage on the Minnesota Anti-ICE Church protest.
In a preview from The Katie Miller podcast, Minaj was asked about her response to Lemon after their public back-and-forth over his coverage of the protests against the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
In the episode, Minaj says, “C***sucker, stop,” before laughing at the offensive phrase.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time that Minaj has used the slur when referencing Lemon since his livestream from Cites Church in St. Paul earlier this month.
Along with the preview posted above, Nicki Minaj posted on X on January 18 that reads in all caps, “Don ‘**** Suckin’ Lemon is disgusting. How dare you? I want that thug in jail!!!”
DON ‘COCK SUCKIN’ LEMON IS DISGUSTING.
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) January 19, 2026
HOW DARE YOU?
I WANT THAT THUG IN JAIL!!!!!
HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ANY OTHER RELIGION.
LOCK HIM UP!!!!! pic.twitter.com/xoQBl9KDJY
News broke since the podcast preview released that Lemon has been taken into federal custody in Los Angeles.
“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lemon’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, told US Weekly in a statement. “The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable. There is no more important time for people like Don to be doing this work.”
Unfortunately, Nicki Minaj feels no guilt about her choice of words. In fact, on January 19, she doubled down, saying, “LOL!!! And I purposely wrote it that way b/c I knew that would be the only way to get the **** suckas to post about it.”
EXCLUSIVE: Don Lemon stopped by TMZ Live and went off on Nicki Minaj, telling her to "sit the f*** down," and urged her to "get a life and grow some brains." 💥 pic.twitter.com/8EY4TBiEvg
— TMZ (@TMZ) January 19, 2026
Before Lemon’s arrest, he spoke about Minaj’s pushback towards him. Lemon, who is openly gay and married to Tim Malone, said in a statement to TMZ that he’s “not surprised Nicki Minaj does not understand journalism and is weighing in on matters that are above her capacity. However, the more appropriate image of her post is a ‘Pick Me’ Doll.”
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