Entertainers are vocal about many things—money, fame, or politics—but it's refreshing when famous people take a stand about controversial topics that are important and perhaps unpopular to their Hollywood peers. Rapper and singer Nicki Minaj made waves over the weekend when she thanked President Donald Trump for speaking out on social media about the ongoing slaughter and persecution of Christians in Nigeria.
"Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social Oct. 31. "The United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries. We stand ready, willing, and able to save our great Christian population around the world!"
Minaj posted a photo of the post and responded, "Reading this made me feel a deep sense of gratitude. We live in a country where we can freely worship God. No group should ever be persecuted for practicing their religion. We don't have to share the same beliefs in order for us to respect each other," Minaj wrote. "Numerous countries all around the world are being affected by this horror, and it's dangerous to pretend we don't notice. Thank you to The President and his team for taking this seriously. God bless every persecuted Christian. Let's remember to lift them up in prayer."
Mike Waltz, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, thanked Minaj in a post on X for "using your platform to speak out in defense of the Christians being persecuted in Nigeria" and invited her to the US Embassy to the United Nations.
I've written before on how dire the situation has become for Christians in Nigeria. Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world, and Christians there have been massacred by the tens of thousands for years.
Mark Walker, the Trump administration's Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, told Fox News Digital, "Even being conservative, it's probably 4,000 to 8,000 Christians killed annually."
While on his way back to Washington on Air Force One on Nov. 2, Trump told reporters there "could be" a U.S. military presence in Nigeria to defend persecuted Christians there. "They're killing the Christians and killing them in very large numbers; we're not going to allow that to happen," he said.
Open Door and other Christian organizations have exposed what Boko Haram and other militant groups are doing to persecute Christians in Nigeria, but it has not caught the attention of the mainstream U.S. media, until now, save for comments from "Real Time with Bill Maher" with host Bill Maher recently.
Minaj is right —Nigerian Christians need our help.
Minaj's comments, along with Trump's post, have pushed the issue back into the spotlight —after Maher brought it up in late Sept. Entertainment outlets like TMZ allege that Minaj received criticism from fans online after speaking up to both expose what's happening to Christians in Nigeria and to thank Trump for doing so. Other outlets reported that as well. I hope Minaj brushes off the criticism. I doubt she'll let it get to her.
As an ardent defender of religious freedom from many years as a political commentator, I appreciated the courage Minaj had to use her platform to discuss persecuted Christians and juxtapose it with the importance of our own religious freedoms here in the U.S. —and the gratitude we should have for them. If Minaj received flak online for her bold stance, it proves her point about the need for religious freedom, expression, and gratitude all the more.
Minaj is an outspoken Christian who has been open about her faith in interviews and music. It's refreshing to see such a high-profile singer speak publicly about her Christianity. I wish that more stars would have the courage to openly defend Christianity—or Trump—when he does something they agree with or appreciate.
Minaj is right, though: Persecuted Christians in Nigeria and elsewhere need our help. Shining a spotlight on the issue is one way to do that.
