- Nicki Minaj attended the Starship launch by SpaceX on Thursday.
- The launch was cancelled at the last minute due to a technical issue.
- Elon Musk had welcomed Minaj with a special tweet o
Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship V3 launch on Thursday featured a surprising appearance from Nicki Minaj. But the launch fell apart at the last moment due to technical issues.
Musk had dropped a tweet welcoming Nicki Minaj to the launch at Boca Chica Beach, Texas. In a video shared by the Tesla chief, Minaj appeared in a Starship t-shirt. She showered praise on Musk. “Major shoutout to Elon. Thank you for everything you're doing for humanity,” she added.
Welcome to Starbase, @NICKIMINAJ! pic.twitter.com/QhNc3otoXF
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 21, 2026
Interestingly, the name of SpaceX's rocket is similar to one of Minaj's most famous tracks, Starships.
The uncrewed launch was canceled at the last minute due to technical problems. Musk blamed the failure on a malfunctioning hydraulic pin that was part of the launch tower. The billionaire confirmed that another launch attempt would take place on Friday. at 5:30 CT, if things were fixed in time, Daily Beast reported.
As of now, it is unclear if Nicki Minaj would make a reappearance if the launch goes ahead.
Nicki Minaj has shown her support for US President Donald Trump and his policies in recent months. The 43-year-old first publicly endorsed Trump in 2025, but has since ramped up her collaborations with figures close to him.
In January, Minaj appeared alongside Trump at an event and said she was his "number one fan". The rapper also featured alongside Erika Kirk at Turning Point's AmericaFest last year.
The rapper appeared to be following in the footsteps of Trump with her appearance. The president has attended at least two SpaceX rocket launches in recent years, as per Business Insider.
In a recent interview with Time, Minaj revealed why she turned towards MAGA, adding that a number of “swatting” incidents, wherein hoax calls sent police officials to her home, turned her away from Democrats. The rapper sought help from California Governor Gavin Newsom on X, but received no response. “He just completely ignored me, with all the money I spent in taxes,” she told Time.
The singer also stated that she would do “whatever it is” to help Trump win in the midterms this year.
Nicki Minaj also claimed that many celebs felt the way she did, but were afraid to make their views public.
While the singer has pledged to do her support to help Trump, whether her presence can help the party soar past obstacles in the midterms remains to be seen.
