Nicki Minaj’s Manchester Show Postponed Following Her Arrest in Amsterdam

Nicki Minaj has apologized to her fans after postponing her Manchester concert due to her arrest in the Netherlands. The 41-year-old rapper was set to perform at the city’s Co-op Live arena but had to cancel last minute after being detained on suspicion of drug exportation. She was fined €350 (£300; $380) by Dutch police and then permitted to continue her journey.

Minaj announced on social media that the Manchester show has been rescheduled, expressing her apologies for the inconvenience and hoping fans could attend the new date. Ticketmaster will contact fans who were at Saturday’s cancelled show, whom she praised as a “class act.” Minaj revealed she spent five to six hours in custody before being allowed to leave from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

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Dutch prosecutors reported she was carrying 30 to 100 grams of cannabis, though Minaj claimed the “pre-rolls” belonged to her security guard. While possessing, selling, or producing drugs is technically illegal in the Netherlands, the country has a policy of tolerance for small amounts of certain drugs.

Minaj commented on social media, “I’ll have the lawyers and god take it from here tho,” adding, “They sure did know exactly how to hurt me today but this too, shall pass.”

Around 20,000 fans had gathered in the Co-op arena, waiting for her performance before Live Nation announced the postponement at around 21:40 BST. Many fans, known as the Barbz, were left disappointed after waiting for hours and travelling from various parts of the country.

Despite the setback, Minaj took her ‘Pink Friday 2’ world tour to Birmingham on Sunday night, where she thanked her fans at Resorts World Arena for their support, saying, “The most important thing was to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you for being here tonight.”

– Farheen Ali