Credit: Alamy

The Dutch police have refuted Nicki Minaj’s recent claim that her arrest was racially motivated. They issued a statement on May 30th that said Minaj was arrested out of routine and that it would have been done regardless of her fame or race. 

“It’s annoying if she experienced it that way,” said a representative for the Netherlands police department. “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.”

The Dutch police also spoke to the BBC. “We just do our job,” they said, “And it is protocol to search luggage and arrest a person when we find drugs. The arrest was around 5:30pm, the release at 9:30pm. We stand for a professional organisation that treats everybody equal, no matter what.”

Minaj was arrested by Dutch police on May 25th under suspicion of “possessing soft drugs” while she was travelling on tour to Manchester. Her Pink Friday 2 show in Manchester had to be postponed due to the arrest. “Not being able to get to Manchester, I don’t know when was the last time I felt that low,” she said.  

Minaj live-streamed the arrest on social media, where the footage showed a member of the police telling the rapper that she was under arrest for “carrying drugs.” In the video, Minaj criticises the “disgusting” treatment that she experienced throughout the arrest and suggests that her race was the motivation for it.

“Knowing that something is being done to you on purpose simply because you are a confident other race…” said Minaj, “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.”

Minaj also stated that when the Dutch put out a press release saying she had been released, she was still in the building. She speculates that they were “Doing maybe damage control.”

This remains a developing story.