Journalist Don Lemon has urged Black and gay people to stop buying Nicki Minaj’s music after she went on a “homophobic” rant about him over the weekend.
The Starships rapper launched into a tirade against the former CNN anchor on X on Sunday, calling for “DON ‘C–K SUCKIN’ LEMON” to be arrested for his “disgusting” report from a controversial protest inside a Minnesota church.
The journalist, who is openly gay, responded to Minaj’s “unhinged, homophobic tweet” on TikTok on Monday.
“Nicki Minaj, stop talking about s**t which you know nothing about. This is out of your depth, by the way. And you are a homophobic bigot,” he said in a video.
“Nicki Minaj, get a life, stop being a pick-me… And I (choose) not to pick you, and so should Black people and so should gay people, (who) shouldn’t buy your music. Clock that.”
The Pound the Alarm hitmaker has courted controversy in recent months for aligning herself with the Republican party and singing U.S. President Donald Trump’s praises. In December, she made a surprise appearance at an event held by Turning Point USA, a nonprofit organisation advocating conservative politics, and joined Erika Kirk – the widow of murdered political commentator Charlie Kirk – on stage for a discussion.
On Sunday, Lemon posted a video on his YouTube channel in which he reported on the protest inside a Minneapolis church as part of the ongoing fallout over the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent earlier this month. One of the church’s pastors is allegedly an ICE agent.
In an interview with TMZ, Lemon insisted that Minaj doesn’t understand politics or journalism.
“I’m not surprised that she is weighing in on something that is beyond her capacity,” Lemon said. “She will do anything that is expedient for her politically. And again, she’s ignorant. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s always weighing in on things that she doesn’t know about. Nicki Minaj should just sit the f**k down.”
