Minaj left the Intercontinental late for her gig in Malahide and sources say only for the professionalism of her limousine driver and garda motorbike escort she might not have made it at all
The Trinidad-born ‘Queen of Rap’ had been due to play a gig in Romania last night, but cancelled it due to “safety issues” over a planned protest in the capital Bucharest this evening.
We can exclusively reveal the 41-year old star was holed up in the Intercontinental Hotel in Ballsbridge on the capital’s southside since early Saturday morning.
Joining her in a luxury suite was her three-year-old son, affectionately known as ‘Papa Bear’, and her mother Carol.
They flew out of Dublin Airport this afternoon with assistants on a private jet for Los Angeles.
There was no sign though of Nicki’s husband Kenneth ‘Zoo’ Petty, whom she first met in high school and reconnected with in 2018.
Petty has trouble getting an entry visa for several counties as he is a registered sex offender and also a convicted killer.
He was convicted of attempted rape in the first degree in April 1995 for an assault of a then 16-year-old girl when he was 15 in 1994, serving four years in a New York prison.
Petty was convicted of shooting dead a man named Lamont Robinson in 2002. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and released in 2013 after serving seven years.
Minaj left the Intercontinental (previously the Four Seasons) late on Saturday night for her gig in Malahide and sources say only for the professionalism of her limousine driver and garda motorbike escort, she might not have made it at all.
She arrived onstage at 9.57pm. Angry fans said many were left waiting in the rain, with some leaving thinking she’d be a no-show.
Minaj played Ireland as part of her ‘Pink Friday 2 World Tour’. It was her first time performing in the capital since 2015. A previous concert by the rapper planned for the 3Arena in 2019 was cancelled after bad weather prevented equipment for the show reaching Ireland. The announcement was made at short notice just two hours before she was due onstage.
Some fans expressed outrage on social media after the Anaconda and Super Bass singer was an hour and a half late for her show, described by some as a “complete disaster.”
Numerous fans posted outburst on social media, saying Minaj was onstage for just 45 minutes (the curfew was extended until 10.45pm) and that her singing time was even less due to at least three costume changes.
One observer who saw her offstage in Dublin described her as seemingly “stoned”.
Another insider who worked with her at her show in Copenhagen a couple of weeks ago previously warned sundayworld.com that she might act up in Dublin.
“I’ve never met a bigger bunch of *f**king divas and clowns in my life,” they told us.
“She went onstage in Copenhagen last night at 22.40pm. She was meant to go on at 20.30pm, all because she hadn’t got the right water.
“A lot of the fans left before she even went on stage.”
The tour also sparked outrage from fans last month, when Minaj offered her “deepest and most sincere apologies” after her Manchester concert was cancelled at the last minute after she was arrested in Amsterdam.
She was detained for hours at Schiphol airport on suspicion of “possessing soft drugs” before being fined by Dutch police and permitted to continue her journey.
That show was abandoned at 9.30pm, when Minaj was due on stage, with 20,000 fans inside the venue at the time when they were informed the concert had been called off.
Minaj also explained about last night’s show in Romania being cancelled.
“Out of concern for the well-being of our team and myself, I have been advised by my security detail not to travel to Romania’s festival tonight due to safety concerns regarding protests in the area,” Minaj said.
“I look forward to seeing you all at another time. As a mom, I have to make sure I’m making sound decisions for me to make it home to my son and for my team to make it home to their families.
“To not heed the advice of security at this time is simply not what I think I should be doing. I love you and thank you for your understanding and support.
“I am very excited to see my fans this Friday in London for another very special headlining show at Wireless Festival.”
Minaj, who was born in Trinidad but grew up in Queens, New York, shared two social media posts about her time in Ireland.
One was a video of her arriving onstage in Malahide.
“This is NOT a festival,” she told her 229 million followers on Instagram.
“This was #GagCityDublin IRELAND couple of hours ago. The crown is with them from this date forth.”
Adding a emojis of a clapping hand and Irish flag, she promised: “I’ll post the rest tomorrow”, followed by a smiley emoji.
An outfit photo shared early this morning showed Minaj in what she hints is a green Gucci top and pants, alongside several photos from her Dublin performance.
“We@Gucci in IRELAND”, followed by a green love heart emoji, adding “IN. LOVE. WITH. DUBLIN. #GagCityDUBLIN. They WIN.”
She also tagged fashion stylist Maher Jridi, as well as Sabato DeSarno, the creative director of Gucci.
Given she’s flown back to LA, her fans in London will be hoping she makes it back across the Atlantic in time given her previous form.