This week, far-right conservatives who are against the recent COVID vaccine mandates found a hero in the talented performer Nicki Minaj. She has recently posted on many social media platforms about her reluctance to get the COVID vaccine. The annual Met Gala, requiring that those invited and who plan on attending must be vaccinated, turned a few away from the event.

Many viewers wondered why Minaj was not at the event on September 13, “They want you to get vaccinated for the Met. if I get vaccinated it won’t for the Met. It’ll be once I feel I’ve done enough research. I’m working on that now. In the meantime my loves, be safe. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grips your head & face. Not that loose one,” Minaj said on Twitter. Going into greater detail to support her response to the public’s questions, Minaj shared that she wants to wait to get the vaccine due to a cousin refusing to get the vaccine in another country “cuz his friend got it & became impotent.”

Many women in the United States have expressed their concerns about the vaccine and potential fertility issues that will come in the future. Although the CDC shares that these concerns are needless, it might be too early to make that assertion. Women across the country have spoken out about their experience facing miscarriages a few weeks after receiving the vaccine, which has led many women to believe that it is in their best interest to wait some time to examine the long-term effects of the COVID vaccine—including Minaj.

After tweeting to her nearly 23 million followers on Twitter, Minaj faced backlash from her supporters, who believed that her statements about the vaccine were promoting dangerous misinformation. Following her tweet, Minaj claims to have been temporarily suspended from the platform, though Twitter officially denies this, for sharing her views and expressing her reasoning for missing out on the Met Gala to her fans.

Silencing Nicki Minaj on Twitter is both upsetting and disappointing. Minaj lashed out at people as she stated that her beliefs and thoughts are being suppressed “You can’t just innocently ask a question about something going in your body?” Minaj said. Although many people criticize Minaj for her refusal to receive the COVID vaccine, she has gained thousands of followers in the past week that are applauding her confidence to speak out about a topic that is very controversial and typically avoided. Minaj and many other citizens believe that it is too early to receive a vaccine that was created in a necessary rush.

No one should be muzzled on a social media platform for expressing their beliefs and thoughts on a controversial topic unless it is harming, bullying, offending, threatening or degrading others on the internet. Minaj shared that a friend experienced complications after receiving the COVID vaccine and people stated that this Tweet distributed misinformation. How can this be considered misinformation? The controversial and much-avoided topic of the COVID vaccine needs to be discussed civilly and effectively online. Silencing people on the internet is not a solution to an opposing perspective. With thousands of people banned on social media platforms for expressing their refusal to get the vaccine and stories of friends and families complications after receiving the shot, there is no awareness of the issues that could potentially surface in a few years. Being made and distributed in such a short amount of time, it should be acceptable for people to be hesitant to receive the vaccine if they have no health issues or a strong immune system.

Minaj’s Tweets are not anti-vax. She simply explained why she did not attend the Met Gala and elaborated with her personal concerns about the COVID vaccine. Minaj is simply urging vaccine caution and stated that she would be happy to receive the vaccine as soon as she does enough research and understands what exactly will be permanently entering her body.