Rapper Nicki Minaj and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz announced on social media that they will offer joint statements this week on violence against Christians in Nigeria, a cause Minaj recently supported, although some experts dismiss claims that Christians are disproportionately targeted by extremist groups.
Key data
Waltz confirmed that he will speak with Minaj in a post Sunday night on
Waltz posted this in response to a Time reporter who claimed that Minaj and Waltz would speak alongside Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz on Tuesday, although other details of the event are not yet known.
Minaj declared Sunday night on X that she is “grateful for the opportunity of this magnitude,” adding that she and her fans “will never give in to injustice.”
The event comes after Minaj posted several messages on social media denouncing violence against Christians in Nigeria, apparently referring to attacks by militant groups that, according to experts, are targeting large numbers of Nigerians, both Christians and Muslims.
Are Christians really being persecuted in Nigeria?
Experts acknowledge that militant groups carried out attacks against Christians in Nigeria, although similar attacks against Muslims have also occurred, and the limited data available suggests that Christians are not attacked more frequently. Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLD), a crisis monitoring group, reported that more than 20,000 people died in Nigeria between January 2020 and September 2025, including 317 Christians and 417 Muslims, although the religious affiliation of most of the victims is unknown.
The organization dismissed the claim by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that a “mass murder of Christians” is occurring in Nigeria, stating that religious violence is “much more complex” and is not limited to Christians.
In a 2024 report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom stated that extremist groups, including Boko Haram, attacked “large numbers of Christians and Muslims in several states in Nigeria,” as well as religious minorities. Nnamdi Obasi, senior adviser to the International Crisis Group think tank, told CNN that claims of “a massacre of Christians are a misinterpretation and exaggerate the challenges of interfaith relations in the country.”
The Associated Press reported that violence in Nigeria may be religiously motivated, but is also sometimes due to clashes between farmers and herders and ethnic conflicts. Nigeria rejected accusations of persecution against Christians: Nigerian Information Minister Mohammed Idris declared earlier this month that accusations of religious genocide are “false, baseless, despicable and divisive,” adding that Christianity “is neither endangered nor marginalized in Nigeria.”
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What has Trump said about Nigeria?
Trump threatened military action against Nigeria in a post on Truth Social earlier this month, accusing it of not doing enough to protect Christians from religious violence.
“If we attack, it will be quick, brutal and cruel, just like terrorists attack our beloved Christians!” Trump said. “Either the Nigerian government protects Christians, or we will kill the Islamic terrorists who commit these horrible atrocities,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared in a post on X.
The State Department designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” earlier this month over allegations of persecution against Christians, a largely symbolic gesture, and Rep. Riley Moore, R-West Virginia, introduced a House resolution condemning attacks on Christians in Nigeria.
Key context
In recent weeks, Minaj has increasingly praised the Trump administration. Earlier this month, the rapper posted on X a message thanking Trump for a post on Truth Social acknowledging attacks on Christians in Nigeria.
“Reading this made me feel deep gratitude. We live in a country where we can worship God freely,” Minaj said in her post, adding, “Thank you to the President and his team for taking this seriously.” Minaj also shared several TikToks posted by the White House in recent weeks, including one that uses her song “Va Va Voom” and claims multiple achievements in 2025, such as “no men in women’s sports, closed border” and “deportation of illegal immigrants with criminal records.”
Minaj also shared a viral-sounding White House TikTok that mixes her song “Beez In The Trap” with 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up,” showing her appreciation in a post on X: “The President and First Lady of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!!” Minaj did not formally support any of Trump’s presidential bids and previously criticized him for his immigration policies.
“What shocked me was that children were separated from their parents upon arriving in this country,” Minaj told Rolling Stone in 2020, adding that it “bothered” her because she herself is an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago. While the extent of Minaj’s support for Trump is unclear, she was embraced by the administration: Team Trump, an official Trump administration TikTok account, posted a video of Trump dancing with the following caption: “This is how I feel now that Nikki Minaj is MAGA…”
Main criticism
Some fans criticized Minaj’s recent praise of the Trump administration. “Waking up and seeing Nicki Minaj thanking Trump is a huge disappointment,” commented one fan on TikTok, a post that received almost 500,000 likes.
“Making a fool of Donald Trump when he doesn’t support half your fans is a choice,” one fan said in response to Minaj’s X post praising Trump, which received thousands of likes, apparently referring to Minaj’s large fan base of LGBTQ people and people of color.
This article was originally published in Forbes US
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