Joe Budden Cuts Ties With Nicki Minaj After Controversial Turning Point USA Appearance
Written by b87fm on 12/25/2025
Joe Budden says he’s officially done with Nicki Minaj — and her recent appearance at a Turning Point USA event was the final straw.
The podcast host addressed the moment on a new episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, revealing that after watching clips of Minaj onstage at the conservative conference with Erika Kirk, he knew their longtime association had reached its end. His co-hosts agreed.
Minaj’s surprise appearance quickly lit up both political and hip-hop circles. The rapper’s visible alignment with figures tied to the MAGA movement sparked heated debate and confusion among fans and cultural commentators.
Budden said his phone lit up before he even saw the footage, but once he did, his decision was immediate.
“I’m out. I’m done. That was it,” Budden said, calling the moment “the last candle on the cake.”
Joe Budden says he is cutting all ties with Nicki Minaj after she appeared on stage with Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest pic.twitter.com/lxV8f8zlt7
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) December 24, 2025
He stressed this wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction. According to Budden, Minaj had more than enough time to consider the optics, the message it sent to fans, and what it aligned her with politically. And to him, that mattered.
He didn’t shy away from criticizing Turning Point USA itself, pointing to the organization’s positions as being fundamentally at odds with the values Minaj’s career has often represented.
“They’re so anti-transgender, which is confusing to me because I’ve been to the Nicki concert,” Budden said, highlighting the tension between the event’s politics and Minaj’s fan base.
Budden said the moment didn’t shock him — but it did disappoint him. He admitted it changed how he sees her and even called the move “anti-Black,” arguing that it felt chaotic, misaligned with hip-hop culture, and deeply out of touch.
“Sometimes how y’all move out there does affect how I view you,” he added, saying he’d be “a fool” to think Minaj didn’t expect backlash.
Minaj has not responded publicly to Budden’s comments or addressed the appearance. But the fallout adds to growing scrutiny around her recent political choices and raises a larger question: how far can artists push political alignment before culture pushes back?
