Minaj attacked Lemon, who is gay, online after he was criticized by the Trump administration for reporting on a protest inside a Minnesota church.

Don Lemon tells Nicki Minaj to ‘get a life’ and ‘stop being a pick-me’ after she launches homophobic rant

Minaj attacked Lemon, who is gay, online after he was criticized by the Trump administration for reporting on a protest inside a Minnesota church.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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January 19, 2026 9:42 p.m. ET

Don Lemon and Nicki Minaj. Credit:

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Don Lemon wants Nicki Minaj to stay in her lane.

"People have been asking about responding to Nicki Minaj's unhinged, homophobic tweet about me," the former CNN anchor began a video shared to TikTok on Monday, addressed at first to his nearly 2 million followers, and then to the rapper herself.

On Sunday, Minaj launched a tirade against Lemon, whom she referred to as "DON 'C--K SUCKIN' LEMON," and called for him to be jailed after he reported from a controversial protest inside a Minnesota church.

"I usually don't respond to this stuff, but let me just say this," Lemon said. "Nicki Minaj, stop talking about s--- which you know nothing about. This is out of your depth, by the way. And you are a homophobic bigot."

Lemon continued, "You don't care about African Americans, you're not an African American. From what I know, you are reportedly an undocumented citizen, so you should be deported under Donald Trump's rule."

Born Onika Tanya Maraj in Trinidad and Tobago in 1982, the "Starships" rapper claimed in 2024 that she was "not a citizen of America," though she has lived primarily in the United States since she was five years old. Minaj has courted controversy for her shift toward the political right in recent months, as she's sung the praises of Donald Trump and amid his administration's increasingly brutal targeting of immigrants.

Minaj has also been on the receiving end of criticism due to her associations with husband Kevin Petty, a registered sex offender, and brother Jelani Maraj, who was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 2020 for raping an 11-year-old-girl.

Lemon amplified these criticisms by adding, "You have one family member who is a sex offender, the other family member... is reportedly a pedophile. And you have the nerve to talk about me?"

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"Nicki Minaj, get a life, stop being a pick-me," Lemon continued. "You are a pick me. And I [choose] not to pick you, and so should Black people and so should gay people, [who] shouldn't buy your music. Clock that."

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Lemon was fired from CNN in 2023 after 17 years at the network. The network cited a number of comments Lemon made on air, like saying Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was "not in her prime."

Nicki Minaj and Erika Kirk at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in 2025.

Caylo Seals/Getty

Now an independent journalist, Lemon courted controversy on Monday by posting a video to his YouTube channel, in which he reported from a protest held inside the Cities Church in St. Paul. The protest was organized after community members discovered that one of the church's pastors, David Easterwood, also serves as the acting field director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's St. Paul field office.

Minaj, an outspoken Christian, called Lemon "disgusting" for reporting on the protest, writing, "How dare you? I want that thug in jail!!!!! He would never do that to any other religion. Lock him up!!!!!"

After Lemon published the video, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon appeared on the conservative podcast *The Benny Show*, in which she claimed the Justice Department "will pursue charges" against Lemon for his alleged participation in the protest.

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