Nicki Minaj sets off firestorm with bizarre claim of COVID vaccine causing 'swollen testicles'

Rapper Nicki Minaj set off a firestorm on Monday when she said she needed to do more "research" before taking the COVID-19 vaccine -- and the followed it up with a bizarre claim about the vaccine's side effects.

The trouble started when Minaj said that she wasn't yet ready to get vaccinated against COVID-19 due to some concerns she had about its safety.

"They want you to get vaccinated for the Met," she wrote. "If I get vaccinated it won't be for the Met. It'll be once I feel I've done enough research. I'm working on that now. In the meantime my loves, be safe. Wear the mask with 2 strings that grips your head and face."

Minutes later, Minaj posted a wild story about the virus she heard from her cousin in Trinidad, which is the country where she was born.

"My cousin in Trinidad won't get the vaccine cuz his friend got it and became impotent," she wrote. "His testicles became swollen. His friend was weeks away from getting married, now the girl called off the wedding. So just pray on it and make sure you're comfortable with your decision, not bullied."

There has been no credible research showing that the COVID-19 vaccine will lead to swollen testicles.

See Minaj's tweets below.