Nicki Minaj‘s claim that her recent arrest was racially motivated has been refuted by the Dutch police.
The NOS is reporting that the police issued a statement on Friday (May 30) claiming that the “Starships” rapper’s arrest was routine, and would have been done regardless of her fame or race.
“It’s annoying if she experienced it that way,” a rep for the Amsterdam police department said to the outlet. “We arrested her when we found dozens of joints in her luggage. The lady was released four hours after arrest in consultation with the public prosecutor, and after paying a fine. I think that it all went very smoothly. It’s annoying that she drew 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 equal, no matter what.”
Nicki Minaj was detained in the Dutch capital 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, with the footage showing a member of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee telling her she was under arrest for “carrying drugs.”
Speaking to fans on the livestream platform Stationhead, the Young Money rapper slammed the “disgusting” treatment she experienced during the arrest and suggested race played a part 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 as a result of her arrest.
“Not only that, but knowing that something is being done to you on purpose simply because you are a confident other 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 somebody else on the stream if Dutch officials treated her like a “human,” she answered: “No. When they put out that press release that I was released, I was still in the building. They were doing maybe damage control, I don’t know.”
