Nicki Minaj’s concert at Co-op Live has been postponed after she was arrested at a Netherlands airport hours before.
Fans had been let into the Manchester venue in the evening despite the star’s detention.
The rapper was held on suspicion of “possessing soft drugs” while travelling from Amsterdam to Manchester for her Pink Friday 2 Tour show, and appeared to livestream the encounter with security staff.
She was later released but will have to pay a fine that will be determined by the public prosecution service, the Dutch police said.
A statement to the PA news agency from the National Police Corps said a woman, 41, was arrested after allegedly trying to take soft drugs from Schiphol airport to another country.
At about 9pm on Saturday, the Dutch force said it released the suspect “and she can now move on”.
A statement from the arena’s promoter, Live Nation, said: “Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible.
“We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”
In footage recorded on Instagram Live, Minaj denied that she was carrying any drugs but was told that she needed to go to the police station.
The rapper asked the officer if she was “under arrest”, to which the Dutch police officer replied, “yes”.
In the recording, a man explained to her that she “would get a lawyer at the office” and they would go “as fast as possible”.
Minaj claimed she was told by an airport security worker “to get into this [police] van and go into the precinct with no lawyer present”.
Asked about Minaj, Robert van Kapel, a spokesperson for the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, earlier told NBC News: “We can confirm that we have arrested a 41-year-old American woman at Schiphol airport because of possession of soft drugs.”
Dutch military police added it was prohibited to take such substances out of the Netherlands.
The US musician also posted a series of messages on X, where she has more than 28 million followers, including one message in which she wrote “they said they found weed”.
She also wrote “they took my luggage without consent” and “they’re trying to keep me from MANCHESTER”.
The former “American Idol” judge played a show in Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome on Thursday and is due to return there for another show on 2 June.
Minaj’s show at Co-op Live on Saturday was originally set to have doors open at 6.30pm but this was changed to 7pm before it was announced it would be postponed.
The beleaguered Co-op Live arena in Manchester – the UK’s largest indoor entertainment venue – opened its doors to the public earlier this month at the fourth attempt after a series of problems and delays. A gig by Elbow on 15 May became the first official date in its schedule.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
