Nicki Minaj stops concert for ‘dear friend’ Princess Diana leaving fans baffled

Nicki Minaj has been all over the headlines in the last few days with the latest buzz being all about a moment from her Birmingham concert over the weekend.

The 41-year-old 'Super Bass' rapper rocked up to the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on Sunday (26 May) where she delivered a pretty unexpected shoutout to the Royal Family.

Nicki stopped mid-show to call for a moment of silence for none other than Princess Diana, who she referred to as her 'dear friend'.

This has since left fans well and truly baffled given that the late Princess of Wales passed away back in 1997 when the rapper was just 14 years old.

Nicki, who was on the latest leg of her worldwide tour celebrating the release of her latest album, Pink Friday 2, could be seen shouting to the crowd in a fake British accent: "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."

Well, I can safely say that that was not on my 2024 bingo card.

Any Barbz out there will know that Nicki released a track last year titled 'Princess Diana', featuring fellow rapper Ice Spice, so that may explain the somewhat bizarre shoutout.

Nicki Minaj holding a minute’s silence for Princess Diana is not what I ever expected to see in my life but is absolutely essential viewing for us Di fans. Beautiful ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Jg6cZymtps

— Shirley Carter’s Pussy (@shirlpuzz) May 27, 2024

Regardless, though, that didn't stop fans from rushing to social media to share their reactions to the crowd footage.

One X user penned: "A dear friend of mine… She was 14 when Diana died…"

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" hit out a second.

"The way the minute's silence was three and a half seconds," quipped a third.

Another praised: "Nicki Minaj holding a minute’s silence for Princess Diana is not what I ever expected to see in my life but is absolutely essential viewing for us Di fans. Beautiful."

"I was there last night," revealed a final user. "Such a moment."

I'm sure it was.

😩 now they said they found weed & that another group of ppl have to come here to weigh the pre-rolls. Keep in mind they took my bags without consent. My security has already advised them those pre-rolls belong to him. Oh yea & the pilot wants me to take my ig post down.

— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) May 25, 2024

And this isn't the first time Nicki's been in the news as of recent as the award-winning artist was arrested in Amsterdam after she was caught carrying 'soft drugs' on Saturday (25 May).

She was landed with a £300 fine by Dutch police and allowed to continue her journey, however, she was forced to spend five to six hours in a jail cell before being released without charge.

Because of this delay, she had to cancel her show at the shiny new Co-op Live Arena in Manchester and has since issued an apology to fans for the ordeal with the show now rescheduled to take place next Monday (3 June).