The rapper insulted the journalist after he reported on a protest at a church in St. Paul

Don Lemon in NYC in May 2024; Nicki Minaj at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in Phoenix in December 2025. Credit :Jamie McCarthy/Getty; Caylo Seals/Getty

Don Lemon is speaking out after Nicki Minaj called him a homophobic slur over his recent political coverage in Minnesota.

On Sunday, Jan. 18, the independent journalist shared video footage from a protest in the Twin Cities, where activists interrupted a service at a church where David Easterwood — a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent — is a pastor. (Easterwood is listed as a pastor on the Cities Church website; he is also listed as the Acting Director of ICE’s Saint Paul Field Office in a Dec. 19 cease and desist sent by St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey M. Olson over an ICE-related incident.)

“Minneapolis activists disrupted a church service where David Easterwood serves as a pastor, according to lawyer and activist @nekimal – Easterwood is also the acting field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in St. Paul, Minnesota,” former CNN anchor Lemon, 59, posted on Bluesky, alongside a video from the protest.

Minaj reacted to Lemon’s coverage overnight in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“DON ‘C— SUCKIN’ LEMON IS DISGUSTING. HOW DARE YOU? I WANT THAT THUG IN JAIL!!!!! HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO ANY OTHER RELIGION. LOCK HIM UP!!!!!” Minaj, 43, wrote in her post, alongside a photo of a Chucky doll.

Lemon — who is openly gay and married his longtime partner Tim Malone in 2024 — responded to Minaj in a statement to TMZ, saying, “I’m not surprised Nicki Minaj does not understand journalism and is weighing in on matters that are above her capacity. However, the more appropriate image for her post is a ‘Pick Me’ Doll.”

Minaj has become increasingly outspoken about certain issues in recent months. In November, she thanked President Donald Trump in a United Nations speech about religious violence in Nigeria in which she said “faith is being attacked in too many places” and that “Christians are being targeted.”

Minaj’s use of a homophobic slur comes one month after she appeared onstage with Erika Kirk at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest. After the event, the rapper faced backlash for saying, “Boys, be boys… It’s okay be boys… There’s nothing wrong with being a boy,” which many viewers interpreted as anti-transgender rhetoric.

In Minnesota, tensions have increasingly grown between residents and ICE agents following several violent encounters between the two amid crackdowns, including the shooting death of Renee Good by an ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, in Minneapolis and a separate shooting of a man by an ICE agent in North Minneapolis.

Amid the incidents, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has said the city has filed litigation to end ICE’s deployment. “We cannot be at a place right now in America where we have two governmental entities that are literally fighting one another,” he said last week.