Congratulations, Moon landing “truthers,” you just gained a powerful new ally: Nicki Minaj.
In a recent episode of the Katie Miller podcast, the host asked the rapper if she had any conspiracy theories she believed in, and casually brought up the Moon landing being faked as one classic example. Miller was already moving on to other popular conspiracy theories, until Minaj spoke up.
“No… No, I don’t think we landed on the Moon,” Minaj interjected.
“You don’t?” asked an incredulous Miller.
“No,” Minaj confirmed.
“I asked Elon this one,” continued Miller, who formerly served under Elon Musk as communications director for his Department of Government Efficiency. “He said we did indeed land on the Moon.”
Neither party elaborated. And what else is there to say? Humans have been to the surface of the Moon six times, starting with NASA’s Apollo 11 mission in 1969 and ending with Apollo 17 in 1972. In all, 12 astronauts — all men — have set foot on the lunar surface, though that may change with NASA’s upcoming Artemis 3 mission.
But this is somehow one of Minaj’s less bizarre comments of late. Over the past few months, the “Super Bass” rapper has ramped up her vocal support for president Donald Trump and ingratiated herself with other figures on the far right, producing surreal moments for a celebrity who once attacked Trump’s immigration policies.
In December, Minaj made an appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix, sharing the stage with Erika Kirk, whose husband Charlie Kirk was shot and killed by a sniper earlier that year, and whose death was mired in conspiracy theories about the real perpetrator and motives behind the assassination. But Minaj’s obsequious praise for the Trump administration was overshadowed when she tried to praise vice president JD Vance by calling him “the assassin,” stunning the audience.
In late January, she appeared at a Trump summit in Washington DC, where she stood alongside the man himself, claiming to be his “number one fan.” Afterwards, she shared a photo of her huge Trump Gold Card, the new pay-to-win visa system that lets anyone willing to shell out $1,000,000 to be put on a fast track to becoming lawful permanent residents.
And after being lightly roasted by Trevor Noah at this year’s Grammy Awards, Minaj also unleashed a slew of deranged tweets attacking anyone and everyone in the music industry, including accusing other artists of being members of satanic cults and sacrificing babies.
In light of that, we wonder how Minaj might respond to retired astronaut and current Arizona senator Mark Kelly’s brutal takedown of her “nutty” theory.
“What I often tell people is that, in the 1960s when we were in a competition with the Soviets to land on the Moon, you know what they said after Apollo 11? They said ‘congratulations,'” Kelly said in a recent interview. “They tracked us to the surface of the Moon.”
“I would suggest that she lay off the conspiracy theories and study some history,” Kelly added.
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