We never thought we’d see the words “Nicki Minaj” and “Saudi Arabia” in the same sentence but now it seems like we can’t stop. Last month, it was announced that the rapper would be headlining Jeddah World Fest, the mega music festival held in Saudi Arabia.
However, the news did not go down too well with Saudi residents, branding the move “hypocritical” considering the laws on women. And, as we know, Nicki Minaj doesn’t exactly abide by those laws.
She then decided to pull out of the concert, telling the Associated Press, “After careful reflection, I have decided to no longer move forward with my scheduled concert at Jeddah World Fest,”
“I believe it is important for me to make clear my support for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community and freedom of expression,” she explained.
Nicki is clearly sticking by her word, retweeting a tweet announcing the news and then publicly praising Saudi’s newest progression and urging media outlets to “post the update on the Saudi women.”
Almost a week ago, Saudi Arabia issued royal decrees that will allow more freedom to women, especially when it comes to travel and family affairs. Women can now be legal guardians to children, whereas it was previously only legally allowed for a man to be.
Many people are applauding Nicki for influencing the new ruling in the Kingdom, but, she’s not sure if she did – she’s happy either way though.
And, so are we!
