The online clash between Nicki Minaj and Don Lemon escalated this week after Lemon responded to Minaj’s angry posts criticizing his coverage of an anti-ICE protest at Cities Church.
Minaj initially took aim at Lemon over his livestreamed reporting from Minneapolis, using inflammatory language and calling for criminal consequences. Lemon addressed the remarks in a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday, sharply condemning what he described as a pattern of cruelty and insecurity. While pushing back, he contrasted Minaj’s approach with the composure of someone he praised as both talented and dignified: Mariah Carey.
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To make his point, Lemon cut to a throwback clip from Watch What Happens Live, where host Andy Cohen once asked Carey to say three nice things about Minaj during the height of their public feud. In the clip, Carey explained that she chose to “stay above the fray” rather than trade insults—advice Lemon appeared to endorse by resurfacing the moment.
The controversy soon drew political attention. Donald Trump weighed in on his Truth Social account, sharing a post that called for Lemon to face jail time over the church incident, comparing it to harsh sentences imposed in unrelated protest cases. The repost fueled further debate around free speech, journalism, and protest boundaries.
Lemon has repeatedly denied any affiliation with the group that disrupted the church service. He maintains that he was in Minneapolis to cover ongoing demonstrations and followed events as they unfolded in a journalistic capacity, without prior knowledge of the protestors’ plans.
As the back-and-forth continues, the dispute has expanded beyond a single protest—pulling in pop history, media ethics, and even presidential commentary—ensuring the feud remains firmly in the public eye.
