Nicki Minaj is not letting up on Anthony Fauci, and this time she traded the lengthy social media posts for a full parody. The rapper dropped a “Dear Diary” video taking direct aim at the former longtime National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, mocking the celebrity treatment he received during the COVID era while accusing him of escaping accountability for the damage she believes pandemic policies caused.
The video arrived as Fauci is once again dominating headlines following his July 29 appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination after being subpoenaed by committee chairman Rand Paul for questioning tied to COVID origins, pandemic policy and past statements to Congress. Fauci argued the hearing placed him at legal risk because Paul has repeatedly called for his prosecutionMinaj’s latest response skips the legal arguments entirely.
Instead, she imagines Fauci privately celebrating the fame and attention he received while Americans struggled through the pandemic.
“Dear diary, well, the press is hot for me,” the video begins.
From there, the parody leans heavily into Fauci’s rise as one of the most recognizable public figures of the COVID era.
“They say I’m sexier than Tyra Banks,” the narration continues. “Julia Roberts gasped when she saw how handsome I was. Brad Pitt played me on SNL.”
That last reference pulls from something that actually happened during the pandemic. Pitt portrayed Fauci during a 2020 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” one example of how deeply Fauci had crossed from government official into pop culture figure during the crisis.
But Minaj’s joke quickly shifts darker.
“Never mind that I set millions of children back years on their education,” the video says. “Never mind that.”
“The elderly are alone and afraid, dying by themselves.”
The lines echo the same complaints Minaj raised earlier this week after Fauci invoked the Fifth.
In her previous response, Minaj blamed Fauci for what she described as the lasting human consequences of the pandemic era, pointing specifically to children dealing with the effects of disrupted schooling, pregnant women who faced hospital restrictions, elderly people who died without relatives present and young people struggling with mental health.
The responsibility for those outcomes was spread across federal, state and local governments, health systems, schools and private institutions, which implemented different restrictions at different times. Fauci, however, became one of the most visible representatives of the federal COVID response, making him a target for people who opposed masking, vaccination campaigns, distancing measures and other pandemic policies. Reuters reported that Fauci became a major target of conservative anger as the crisis continued.
Minaj’s parody makes clear that she now sees Fauci’s celebrity status as part of the story.
“Yeah, the press is hot for me,” the video continues. “They’re really hot for me.”
Then comes another shot at the branding that developed around Fauci.
“I’m coining terms like fuchy ouchie. I’ve got bobbleheads.”
The exaggerated diary entry then becomes more accusatory.
“And if anyone asks questions, me and my gang ruins their lives.”
Minaj does not identify who she believes had their life ruined, and the video offers no evidence supporting that allegation. The line nevertheless fits the broader message of the clip, which portrays Fauci as a powerful public official who Minaj believes enjoyed favorable media coverage while critics faced backlash.
She closes with one more jab.
“I’m writing an autobiography. I think I’m gonna call it Faucioci.”
The “Dear Diary” framing is especially pointed given the circumstances surrounding Fauci’s Senate appearance. Before the hearing, Paul publicly released entries from Fauci’s personal diary, which Fauci later described during his opening statement as an attempt to embarrass and intimidate him. Fauci said Paul’s history of demanding criminal charges against him was a key reason he followed his attorneys’ advice and invoked the Fifth Amendment.
That testimony marked a dramatic change from Fauci’s previous congressional appearances.
During the height of the pandemic, Fauci routinely testified and sparred with lawmakers over masks, vaccines, research funding and the origins of COVID. On July 29, however, he declined to answer substantive questions before the committee.
Minaj has her own long history with Fauci.
Their public clash dates back to September 2021, when Minaj questioned COVID vaccine messaging while explaining why she would not attend the Met Gala. During that controversy, she shared an unverified claim involving a friend of her cousin in Trinidad who allegedly suffered reproductive problems after receiving a COVID vaccine.
Fauci publicly rejected the claim at the time, saying there was no evidence vaccines caused the issue Minaj described.
Five years later, the argument has clearly not been forgotten.
Earlier this week, Minaj joked that booster recommendations once felt so frequent that people were being told to get another shot “every 5 to 10 business days like it was the new Jordans droppin.”
Now, she has escalated from posts to parody.
The “Dear Diary” clip turns Fauci’s media fame, pandemic record and newly publicized diary into one running joke, showing that Minaj’s latest issue with him is about more than his decision to plead the Fifth.
For Nicki, the bigger target appears to be the entire image surrounding Fauci during COVID, and she is making it clear she is nowhere near finished talking about it.
