Nicki Minaj’s Amsterdam Concert Canceled After She Was Detained for Alleged Drug Possession
There will be no Gag City in Amsterdam in June. Nicki Minaj‘s Pink Friday 2 concert scheduled for June 2 has been canceled, concert promoter Mojo said on its website.
“Due to the events of last week, the Nicki Minaj show on Sunday, 2nd June at Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam will no longer be taking place,” the statement reads. The venue also confirmed the cancellation on its website, and Live Nation no longer has the concert date listed.
Billboard has reached out to Minaj’s reps for comment.
The “Super Freaky Girl” rapper was detained by Dutch police while traveling from Amsterdam to Manchester, England, on May 25; law enforcement said they found “dozens of joints in her luggage,” according to the BBC. Minaj documented the incident on Instagram Live. The Grammy-nominated artist was eventually released and paid a fine, but was unable to make it to her Manchester show that evening, which she has since rescheduled for June 3. (According to the Netherlands government’s website, the country has a “policy of toleration for soft drugs,” which, in the case of cannabis, means possession of 5 grams or less.)
“Not being able to get to Manchester, I don’t know when was the last time I felt that low,” she said recently on Stationhead, according to Vibe. While discussing the incident, Minaj called her treatment by Amsterdam’s law enforcement “disgusting,” and claimed that her arrest was because of racial discrimination. “Knowing that something is being done to you on purpose simply because you are a confident other race,” she said. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
A Dutch military police spokesperson denied her allegations that race played a part in her detainment. “We arrested her when we found dozens of joints in her luggage,” the rep told NOS, a news organization in the Netherlands. “The lady was released four hours after arrest in consultation with the public prosecutor, and after paying a fine. … It’s annoying that she drew that card.”
While Barbz in Amsterdam won’t be able to see her perform, fans Stateside are getting more shows. Minaj announced on May 29 that there would be a second U.S. leg of the Pink Friday 2 World Tour, with the second set of shows kicking off in September. Even before the rapper took Gag City to Europe earlier in May, she had already made history with the trek when it became the highest grossing rap tour by a woman. Prior to taking Gag City overseas, the Pink Friday 2 World Tour had already grossed $67 million in North America.
