Nicki Minaj Responds Tour Postponed Low Ticket Sales

Photo:Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images.

Nicki Minaj is once again on the defensive. The rapper, who released her album, Queen, on August 10, is desperately trying to dispute claims that she postponed the North American leg of her Queen tour by eight months because of "disappointing ticket sales."

"This is all happening because I pushed my album back two months, and I just finished writing and recording literally hours before the album came out," she explained to fans in a video she posted to Twitter. "So now I simply don't have the time to rehearse and be on the road in time to give you guys the level of show I need to give. Jamie King and I are working tirelessly to give you guys the best show of my life, and I really apologize. But it'll be worth it."

AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT

Despite North American delays, Minaj said her shows in Australia and Europe, scheduled for early next year, are still on schedule. She also mentioned that she may need to find "three or four opening acts" to fill in for her original co-headliner Future, due to scheduling conflicts.

My darlings: ?? pic.twitter.com/nBmsE2p9SI
— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) August 22, 2018

An unnamed source from Livenation, however, disputed Minaj's claim to Page Six.

"Nicki's tour could be the most disappointing ticket sales of the year for any artist," the source reportedly said. "These are big arenas with up to 20,000 capacities. Sales for opening night in Baltimore is 2,000 tickets. LA is 3,400, New Orleans 1,000, Denver 1,300, Chicago 3,900. Even her hometown Brooklyn is only 5,050."

Representatives for Minaj and Livenation didn't immediately respond to Refinery29's request for comment.

The tour postponement comes on the heels of some recent Minaj controversies. Prior to the MTV Video Music Awards, the rapper called out Kylie Jenner for helping unfairly boost her boyfriend Travis Scott's ticket sales by "telling ppl to come see her & Stormi." Shortly after, Minaj also went after Spotify for allegedly trying to "teach me a lesson" for playing her music on her Apple Music radio station, Queen Radio. In a series of tweets, Minaj also claimed Spotify had treated her differently than male artists who also have Apple radio shows.

I put my blood sweat & tears in writing a dope album only for Travis Scott to have Kylie Jenner post a tour pass telling ppl to come see her & Stormi. lol. Im actually laughing. #Queen broke the record of being number 1 in 86 countries. Thank Jesus & thank you to my fans.
— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) August 19, 2018

Spotify put drake’s face on every playlist but told me they’d have to teach me a lesson for playing my music 10 mins early on #QueenRadio. Even tho they’ve been giving away my music for free for years & I am one of the top Spotify artists of all time.
— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) August 19, 2018

Spotify had to teach me a lesson but rewarded the man who has had an Apple radio show the longest; inadvertently helping the Apple platform the most. Oh I can’t wait for #QueenRadio on Tuesday. They took away my promotion they had promised for the 1st cpl days b/c of this. #Queen
— QUEEN (@NICKIMINAJ) August 19, 2018

These beefs come on the heels of her alleged drama with Cardi B and, after the VMAs, Tiffany Haddish. Earlier this month, Minaj also called out fans and other artists for treating her like "a Barbie" who's not allowed to have emotions or to defend herself from public attacks.

Related Video:

Before you meet Elsa y Elmar, it’s understandable if you assume you’ll encounter a musical duo or perhaps a gender-switching artist. But Elsa y Elmar i

On a routine grocery shopping trip, 12-year-old Ludmilla decided to become a singer. While accompanying her mom, a DVD of a Beyoncé performance that playe

In 2018, a Washington Post article pondered, “Is the Latin music industry finally ready to embrace women?” Five years later, a Billboard article stated

Nicki Minaj's Tour Is Postponed Due To Low Sales

Nicki Minaj's Tour Is Postponed Due To "Disappointing" Tickets Sales, But She Doesn't Agree

More from Music

R29 Original Series