Nicki Minaj made a surprise appearance at SpaceX's Starbase in Texas on Friday, but her words of praise for the company's CEO Elon Musk weren't enough to ensure a successful flight. The rapper gave a brief interview to SpaceX staff, where she gushed about the "historic" nature of the event. She also wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the word "Starship" — a nod both to the name of the megarocket that had been intended for a test launch as well as her smash 2012 single, "Starships."
"This is a major moment, y'all," she said. Starships are meant to fly @NICKIMINAJ pic.twitter.com/gwprhU4AV2 — SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 21, 2026
Minaj capped the interview by offering a "major shout-out" to Musk, noting: "Thank you for everything that you're doing for humanity."
At the time of Minaj's interview, only six minutes remained before Starship's planned launch. Unfortunately, a technical issue — described by Musk on X as a faulty hydraulic pin — meant the launch had to be postponed until at least Friday evening. Even though things didn't go exactly as planned, Minaj and Musk exchanged pleasantries on X, with Minaj describing Starbase as "a magical place."
Though Minaj's Starbase appearance had been kept under wraps, her seemingly chummy relationship with Musk seems in line with her recent political shift. As a one-time senior adviser to President Donald Trump, Musk headed up the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, where he controversially facilitated mass layoffs and staff reductions before leaving the administration in May of last year. Rapper Nicki Minaj has wholeheartedly embraced President Donald Trump and his MAGA agenda in recent months. Win McNamee via Getty Images
While the world's wealthiest man became a polarizing figure in the GOP after publicly clashing with Trump, he appears to be back in the president's good graces and has made significant donations to Republicans in congressional races ahead of this fall's midterms. Minaj has wholeheartedly embraced Trump and his MAGA agenda in recent months, going as far as to describe herself as the president's "No. 1 fan." Speaking to Time magazine earlier this month, the 12-time Grammy nominee said she'd quietly supported Trump for years, but feared her public endorsement would draw a backlash among her industry peers. "I felt that way already about him, just that I didn't dare act like that publicly," she told the outlet. "It's been ingrained in everyone's brain in the music business that we are supposed to be a Democratic family. I just knew they would not like me supporting Trump."
