Over the weekend, rapper Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest convention, where she praised President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, mocked California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and instructed listeners, “If you are born a boy, be a boy.”
On TikTok, her queer fans appear to be overwhelmingly disappointed.
The event was hosted by Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative pundit Charlie Kirk. She now serves as the CEO of the nonprofit Turning Point USA, which advocates for “conservative politics” on high school and college campuses.
Kirk took the stage with Minaj, where the two discussed Minaj’s recent alignment with the MAGA movement. During the talk, Minaj called Trump and Vance “role models” for young men.
For Minaj, the appearance was an official confirmation of a political stance that she’s been hinting at on social media for several months.
Back in 2020, the rapper said that she was “not gonna jump on the Donald Trump bandwagon.”
This November, she signaled otherwise by reposting an official White House TikTok celebrating the administration’s supposed successes, including the claim “Our cities are safer than ever,” which appears to be a reference to the administration deploying the National Guard and ICE officers to multiple major cities, as well as the anti-trans sentiment, “No men in women’s sports.”
Now, Minaj’s queer listeners—who have always represented a large portion of her fanbase—are expressing feelings of betrayal on TikTok.
Nicki Minaj’s queer fans speak out
In past years, Minaj positioned herself as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community, offering words of encouragement to her gay fans and, at one point, describing herself as bisexual.
By aligning with MAGA, repeatedly promoting anti-trans rhetoric, and working with Turning Point USA (which has an extensive track record of anti-LGBTQ+ animus), she appears to be alienating some of her most dedicated supporters.
One of the most-viewed clips from Minaj’s appearance is a TikTok with nearly 300,000 likes in which the rapper states, “If you are born a boy, be a boy.” She adds: “Boys will be boys, and there’s nothing wrong with that”—apparently discouraging trans women from transitioning.
The comments are flooded with negative comments from disappointed fans. “She built her career from the queer community,” one user wrote. “Literally almost half her fandom is part of the LGBTQ community,” another added.
A number of commenters noted Minaj’s guest appearance on season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race as further evidence of her shifting support. Others have shared that they plan to revoke support for the rapper after the recent appearance with Kirk.
In one TikTok post with nearly 50,000 likes, an old clip of Minaj championing her gay fans is overlaid with the caption: “I miss the old Nicki who actually cared about the LGBTQ community. R.I.P. 1982-2019 Nicki, you would’ve hated 2025 MAGA Nicki.”