Nicki Minaj Targeted in Swatting Prank, Police Say
Nicki Minaj appears to be the latest celebrity victim of swatting. The "TROLLZ" singer recently had a run-in with the Los Angeles Police Department after the department received two calls within the span of 24 hours falsely claiming that Minaj's 2-year-old son was being abused and also reporting that the singer's home was on fire.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ that an anonymous caller notified child services to report that Minaj's son, whom she affectionately refers to as "Papa Bear" since she hasn't disclosed his name to the public, was being abused. The call prompted LAPD to roll up to Minaj's Los Angeles-area home on Monday, June 12. However, after speaking with the "Red Ruby Da Sleeze" rapper and her husband, Kenneth Petty, at the scene, and after examining their son, officers determined the call was just a "swatting" prank.
Hours later, another caller phoned 911 dispatch to report that Minaj's home was on fire. The LAPD also determined that the call was another prank. Amid the back-to-back calls, TMZ reported that Minaj hired lawyers to expose who made the calls and hold them responsible, something that could possibly lead to criminal charges.
Swatting is a form of harassment in which a prank call is made to emergency services in an attempt to garner a large police response, or even a S.W.A.T. team, to the specific location. In recent years, celebrities have become targets of these pranks. This year, YouTuber Madison Beer became a swatting victim when a caller from Germany repeatedly called the police to falsely report that Beer was contemplating suicide. TMZ reported in February that the LAPD received more than 15 calls since the beginning of the year about Beer, all of which were determined to be false. Rihanna, Diddy, and Tom Cruise, as well as Former White House advisor Steve Bannon and US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have also been victims of swatting.
Amid the most recent incident involving Minaj, police once again stressed that swatting calls are a waste of time and resources. In some tragic instances, swatting pranks have even turned deadly. In 2017, a 28-year-old man was fatally shot by police after a serial prankster called Wichita police claiming he had just shot his dad and was holding his mom and brother hostage following a fight over a bet while playing Call of Duty.