Nicki Minaj Nearly Hit by Thrown Object During Detroit Concert

If you want to throw stuff on stage, go to a Drake show. Don’t do that at a Nicki Minaj concert.

Minaj, 41, was wrapping up her April 20 show at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, when she was interrupted by an unidentified flying object. As she was performing “Starships,” the second-to-last song of the night, someone threw what appeared to be a pink bracelet at her. Fan footage of the incident shows the object was headed right toward Minaj’s face.

The “FTCU” rapper was able to swat the object away in time, hitting it with her hand as it held the microphone. Minaj then picked the object up and angrily hurled it away from the stage.

From there, cooler heads prevailed. Minaj took a moment to get back into the song’s groove, walking away from the crowd while juggling her microphone around her waist. Minaj recovered and finished the track.

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Minaj is on her Pink Friday 2 World Tour. She’ll play two nights in Chicago — April 24 and 25 — before finishing out the month with dates in Minneapolis and Toronto. The tour heads overseas to Europe in late May, concluding on July 14 with a show in Liege, Belgium.

Judging by Minaj’s furious reaction in Detroit, it’s best if fans don’t offer more tributes. Her longtime rival, Cardi B, had a similar experience in July 2023 while performing at Drai’s Beachclub in Las Vegas. As Cardi, 31, was on stage, a concertgoer doused her with a cup of an unidentified liquid.

The move clearly caught Cardi off-guard, and she angrily threw her microphone at the fan. The backing track continued as security went to retrieve the microphone. Cardi, on stage, collected herself as the matter was sorted out.

Ultimately, Cardi didn’t face any charges for throwing the microphone at the fan. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police told CNN in August 2023 that the Clark County District Attorney’s Office closed the case for “having insufficient evidence” and that no charges would be filed.

In November, Taylor Swift spoke out against the practice. “It really freaks me out when stuff gets thrown on stage,” she said during a concert on her Eras tour. “If it’s on the stage, then a dancer can trip on it,” she explained. “I love that you brought presents, and that is so nice, but just can you please not throw them on the stage?”

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While Drake, 37, was happy to show off his collection of bras thrown onstage during his 2023 It’s All A Blur Tour, most musicians prefer that fans keep their items to themselves.