Nicki Minaj’s Allegations Against Roc Nation Spark Comparisons to Colin Kaepernick’s NFL Fallout

As Nicki Minaj calls out Roc Nation, activist and media personality Nessa Diab is now weighing in.

Minaj recently called out Roc Nation and its CEO, Desiree Perez, accusing them of working behind the scenes to damage her reputation. While she did not go into full detail, her consistent remarks have sparked renewed interest in how the agency operates privately.

Diab, known for her activism and as the wife of former NFL player Colin Kaepernick, posted comments online drawing a direct link between what Minaj is now facing and what Kaepernick experienced years ago.

Diab wrote that what is happening to Minaj feels very similar to what she was told occurred behind closed doors when Jay-Z partnered with the NFL after Kaepernick’s protests. She claimed Roc Nation accepted a multi-year deal with the league to help them move past the controversy surrounding teams refusing to sign Kaepernick.

‼️‼️‼️📣📣📣@NICKIMINAJ exposing the smear campaign tactics that Jay-Z, Roc Nation, Desiree Perez did to her behind the scenes, is VERY similar to what I was told they did to @Kaepernick7 when Jay purposely co-opted Colin’s protest by siding with the NFL to help “their image”… pic.twitter.com/dvWVqRWosF

— NESSA (@nessnitty) July 16, 2025

She added that Jay-Z and Perez worked to shift the public conversation from protest and boycott to performance and public image. In her post, Diab quoted Perez saying, “We love that everybody wants to be on the stage, that we’ve completely changed the conversation to fighting for it versus boycotting.”

Diab also pointed out Perez’s criminal history and the pardon she received from Donald Trump, highlighting her ties to NFL ownership. She noted that many of those owners contributed large donations to Trump’s campaigns.

Though some argued that Minaj’s situation cannot be compared to what Kaepernick faced, Diab pushed back. “Smear campaigns happening behind the scenes to harm people’s lives are not right,” she said. “And calling out powerful people doing it takes a lot of courage.”

She acknowledged that the circumstances are not the same, but emphasized that the strategy is what connects the two situations. According to her, both involve powerful entities allegedly working behind the scenes to shape public perception while privately targeting individuals.

Jay-Z, Roc Nation, and Desiree Perez have not responded to Diab’s claims or Minaj’s accusations.