Dutch Police Refute Nicki Minaj’s Claims of Racial Bias in Arrest

Nicki Minaj‘s assertion that her recent arrest was racially motivated has been denied by Dutch police.

The NOS reported that on Friday, May 30, the police issued a statement declaring that the “Starships” rapper’s arrest was standard procedure and not influenced by her fame or race.

“It’s unfortunate if she felt that way,” a spokesperson for the Amsterdam police department told the outlet. “We arrested her when we found dozens of joints in her luggage. She was released four hours later in consultation with the public prosecutor after paying a fine. I believe everything went very smoothly. It’s unfortunate that she played that card.”

A spokesperson for the Dutch police also told the BBC: “We just do our job, and it is protocol to search luggage and arrest a person when we find drugs. The arrest was around 5:30 p.m., the release at 9:30 p.m. We stand for a professional organization that treats everybody equally, no matter what.”

Nicki Minaj was detained in Amsterdam on May 25 on suspicion of “possessing soft drugs” while traveling to Manchester for her Pink Friday 2 Tour.

She livestreamed the arrest on social media, showing a member of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee informing her that she was under arrest for “carrying drugs.”

Speaking to fans on the livestream platform Stationhead, the Young Money rapper criticized the “disgusting” treatment she received during the arrest and suggested that race played a role in the incident.

“Not being able to get to Manchester, I don’t know when was the last time I felt that low,” she said, referring to her canceled show in the UK city due to her arrest.

“Not only that, but knowing that something is being done to you on purpose simply because you are a confident person of another race. There was one lady there — all the rest were men — and I could tell she had a heart. The treatment was just disgusting and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

When asked by someone on the stream if Dutch officials treated her like a “human,” she responded: “No. When they put out that press release that I was released, I was still in the building. They were maybe doing damage control, I don’t know.”