Anti-ICE protesters emerge during Minnesota church service
Anti-ICE protesters emerge during a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Don Lemon criticized Nicki Minaj after she called for his arrest over covering an anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church.
In a post on X, Minaj called Lemon “disgusting” and referred to him with an anti-gay slur after the former CNN anchor livestreamed an anti-ICE protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota on Jan. 18. A group of protesters interrupted a service over claims that one of the church’s pastors works for ICE.
“How dare you? I want that thug in jail!” Minaj wrote in all-caps on X on Jan. 19. “He would never do that to any other religion. Lock him up!”
She went on to respond to several other tweets about Lemon, including one where she said she “purposely wrote” her initial post with an anti-gay slur.
“They would’ve all collectively ignored the despicable behavior displayed by Lemon head. I’m glad they’re angry. They’re about to get angrier,” she wrote.
Lemon responded in an Instagram video that day, calling Minaj’s post “unhinged” and “homophobic.”
“You’re out of your depth,” Lemon said, before raising questions about Minaj’s citizenship status. The rapper, who is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, has reportedly said that she is not a U.S. citizen.
The former CNN anchor also raised the status of Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, as a registered Level 2 sex offender.
“You have nerve to talk about me and what you think that I do,” Lemon said. “Nicki Minaj, get a life. Stop being a pick me.”
USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Minaj and Lemon.
Minaj has in recent months taken to publicly supporting President Donald Trump’s administration. In 2025, she also worked with United Nations ambassador Mike Waltz to speak out about alleged anti-Christian violence in Nigeria; Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has denied the characterization of the country as being “religiously intolerant.”
Lemon, who is openly gay, was an anchor on CNN for nearly a decade from 2014 until his firing in April 2023. He later launched his own media company and hosts an eponymous podcast, “The Don Lemon Show.”
Nicki Minaj’s criticism of Don Lemon stems from anti-ICE protest at church
Lemon was one of several journalists in attendance at the Minnesota church protest.
Social media videos showed a group of protesters entering the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Jan. 18. They made unverified claims that one of the church’s pastors works for ICE. The Department of Homeland Security has declined to comment.
In Lemon’s nearly seven-hour livestream, he spoke with congregation members, protestors and one of the church’s pastors.
“This is unacceptable,” Lead Pastor Jonathan Parnell told Lemon. “It’s shameful to interrupt a public gathering of Christians in worship.”
“This will not stand, they cannot pretend to be a house of God, while harboring someone who is directing ICE agents to wreak havoc upon our community,” protester Nekima Levy Armstrong told Lemon.
The protest came less than two weeks after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson and Greta Cross, USA TODAY
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at [email protected].
