Soulja Boy tweets about COVID-19 are stirring debate after the rapper questioned the vaccine and claimed the virus was a hoax.
In one post, he wrote, “I knew that COVID s**t was fake.” He followed that with another message saying, “Wtf was in that vaccine? U stupid if you took that s**t.”
It’s unclear what prompted the Soulja Boy vaccine remarks. Neither of the two posts names a vaccine manufacturer, describes a medical issue, or identifies a specific event that caused him to speak out.
The timing does come as COVID policy and pandemic era decisions are back in the national conversation. Former federal infectious disease official Anthony Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during a July 29 Senate hearing where Republican lawmakers questioned him about the government’s handling of COVID-19.
While debates over government restrictions, vaccine policy, mandates, messaging and the pandemic response remain politically charged, the claim that COVID-19 itself was fake conflicts with established medical evidence. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the SARS CoV 2 virus. WHO reported in its November 2025 fact sheet that nearly 780 million cases and more than 7.1 million reported deaths had been recorded worldwide since December 2019, while noting that the actual totals were believed to be higher.
The virus also has not simply disappeared. In a July 2026 epidemiological update, WHO said SARS CoV 2 continued circulating globally. A separate May 2026 WHO statement said the virus was still causing severe disease, post COVID conditions and deaths, although its impact on health systems had fallen substantially compared with the earliest years of the pandemic because of population immunity, vaccination and improved clinical care.
Soulja Boy’s question about what was inside the vaccine also has information available through federal regulators. The Food and Drug Administration’s current Comirnaty page provides product information, package inserts, regulatory reviews and safety information for the Pfizer BioNTech mRNA COVID vaccine. The FDA also publishes a package insert for Spikevax that lists its mRNA component and other ingredients, including lipids, sucrose and additional compounds used in the formulation.
That does not mean COVID vaccines are free of potential risks. The FDA’s Comirnaty information specifically notes updated labeling regarding myocarditis and pericarditis following mRNA COVID vaccination. Public health reporting should be able to acknowledge documented risks without turning those risks into proof of claims that are not supported by evidence.
At the same time, current federal health information continues to describe vaccination as protection against serious outcomes. According to a June 2026 CDC vaccination update, COVID vaccines are effective at protecting against serious illness, hospitalization and death. The agency’s guidance at that time recommended vaccination for people six months and older through a discussion of individual benefits with a health care provider.
Soulja Boy is not the only rapper to speak out against the vaccine. Nicki Minaj famously claimed the COVID-19 caused swollen testicles. Health officials quickly shut down this notion, arguing that there was no evidence for any such reactions.
