Nicki Minaj honours 'dear friend' Princess Diana at UK concert

The American rapper's European tour faced a setback after her arrest in Amsterdam for alleged possession of soft drugs, which she vehemently denied.

After being briefly detained, she was released, but the situation led to the cancellation of her Manchester show, disappointing fans.

However, determined to win back her British audience, Nicki's Birmingham show was quite a spectacle. In a surprising move, the rapper paid homage to a beloved figure in the UK – Princess Diana.

During Minaj's Pink Friday 2 tour in Birmingham, held at Resorts World Arena, the singer took a poignant moment to honour the memory of the late Princess Diana. 

Despite being just 14 years old at the time of Diana's passing, Minaj referred to her as her 'dear friend.' 

With the crowd cheering around her, Nicki urged everyone to observe a minute of silence in remembrance of the late Princess, who tragically died nearly 26 years ago. Halting the concert for a moment, Nicki in her best British accent she can deliver shouted, "Wales - it always reminds me of a dear friend of mine, well she's not here anymore, but the Princess of Wales. Let's have a moment of silence for her."

Although the crowd might have viewed this gesture as endearing or confusing, it didn't sit well with netizens.

They were visibly surprised by the rapper referring to the beloved princess as her 'dear friend'. Many speculated that the shoutout was likely a reference to Nicki's 2023 hit song Princess Diana, featuring rapper Ice Spice. The theme of the song is about being royalty and how to command respect in your life, just like Princess Diana.

Nicki's airport detention was the top trend throughout the day. During a live stream, officials approached her and requested cooperation for a bag check, which Nicki alleged was preplanned. This incident caused the cancellation of her scheduled performance at Co-op Live Arena on Saturday. After paying a fine of €350 she was released and permitted to resume her journey.

She announced her upcoming performance at the Manchester venue the following Monday via social media and wrote, "I apologise for all the inconvenience this has caused. I really hope you can make the June 3rd show. It'll be really special."

According to Dutch police, the rapper was found with between 30 and 100 grams of marijuana, but she claimed it belonged to a security guard. "I'll let the lawyers and God handle this," she wrote on X. "They knew exactly how to get to me today, but this too will pass."