The online war between Don Lemon and Nicki Minaj has reached a boiling point. What started as a disagreement over Lemon’s reporting on an anti-ICE protest at a Minneapolis church has devolved into a personal and explosive back-and-forth.
After Nicki labeled Lemon a “disgusting thug” and used a homophobic slur on X, the former CNN anchor spent the weekend tearing into the rapper’s family history and her citizenship status.
Lemon isn’t holding back, suggesting that Nicki’s sudden alignment with MAGA politics is a strategic move to deflect from her personal baggage. “Nicki Minaj has many, many issues that would lead one to believe that those issues are possibly the reason she’s cozying up to MAGA,” Lemon stated. He specifically pointed to the criminal records of her husband, Kenneth Petty, and her brother, Jelani Maraj. “Her brother is reportedly a pedophile and her husband is supposedly a sex offender. He’s supposed to register as a sex offender.”
The journalist questioned how Nicki can claim her faith while attacking others with such vitriol. “How dare you and also to say that you’re a Christian. Do you not recall the 2012 Grammy Awards when the Catholic League and all of those folks and Christians were going after her for her egregious performance?” he asked, referencing her infamous “Roman Holiday” stage set.
Perhaps the most shocking part of Lemon’s retaliation was his call for Nicki to be removed from the country. Claiming she is an “undocumented person” who came to the U.S. as a child, Lemon suggested she is supporting the very people who would want her gone. “If that was true under those rules, which are Donald Trump’s rules, she should be picked up, detained, and deported,” Lemon said. “Those are the people that she’s cozying up next to.”
Lemon ended his latest drag by questioning why her core fanbases continue to stand by her. “So why do African Americans support her? Why does the LGBTQ community support her? You shouldn’t,” he argued. “She’s a homophobe and she is racist against, I believe, Black Americans.”
While Nicki has already doubled down on her comments, claiming she used the slurs specifically to “get the media to post about it,” it’s clear Lemon is done playing nice with the Barbz leader.
Don Lemon continues to drag Nicki Minaj to hell including her sex offender family members.
“she joined MAGA because she possibly believes it’s a place of redemption for her husband and brother both on the list”
pic.twitter.com/Iw5RViL2fR— Red Media (@RedMedia_us) January 24, 2026
