Nicki Minaj's England concert postponed after rapper was detained by Dutch authorities over pot

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Nicki Minaj's concert in Manchester scheduled for Saturday night was postponed after police in the Netherlands discovered marijuana in her bags as she was preparing to leave the country.

Promoter Live Nation said the performance will be rescheduled and tickets will be honored.

“Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible,” the promoter said in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”

Minaj tweeted earlier Saturday that she was stopped at the Amsterdam airport as she was about to board a plane for the concert in Manchester. Police told her they found marijuana in her bags, and it would have to be weighed, she tweeted. Cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands, but it is tolerated for recreational use.

Robert Van Kapel, a spokesperson for the Netherlands military police, said a 41-year-old American woman had been arrested for exporting “soft drugs.” He did not identify the woman or elaborate on the type of drugs in question. Police later tweeted that they fined the woman and released her.

Minaj, who is 41 years old, tweeted that she believes police just wanted to make her late for her concert in Manchester.

“Told you, it’s to try to make me late so that they can write negative stories. Jealousy is a disease. You know the rest,” Minaj tweeted.

Her representatives didn't immediately respond to messages Saturday.

The Trinidadian-born rapper is best known for her hits “Super Freaky Girl," “Anaconda” and “Starships.” She has been nominated for 12 Grammy awards over the course of her career. The Manchester concert is part of her “Pink Friday 2” tour, which includes stops in Paris, Poland, Germany, Romania and Switzerland.

Associated Press journalists Michael Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, and Sian Watson in Cannes, France, contributed to this report.

FILE - Nicki Minaj performs during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Rapper Nicki Minaj says bags were searched on way out of Netherlands. She tweeted that police told her they found marijuana in her bags. The military constabulary at the airport said a 41-year-old American woman had been arrested for exporting “soft drugs.” (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Nicki Minaj arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Rapper Nicki Minaj says bags were searched on way out of Netherlands. She tweeted that police told her they found marijuana in her bags. The military constabulary at the airport said a 41-year-old American woman had been arrested for exporting “soft drugs.” (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and the first Jewish person to serve as the spouse of a nationally elected U.S. leader, will deliver remarks on Sunday at the groundbreaking of the memorial to victims of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.

The White House announced that Emhoff, who has been among the most visible and outspoken Biden administration officials on combating antisemitism at home and abroad, would attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Tree of Life campus.

The synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood was home to the deadliest antisemitic attack in the United States, in which 11 worshipers were killed by a gunman driven by hatred of Jews. The space will include a new place of worship, a museum devoted to studying the hatred of Jews in the U.S. and a memorial to the victims.

The June 23 event will include community leaders, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who will serve as the ceremony's host.

FILE - Second gentleman Doug Emhoff speaks during a Jewish American Heritage Month event, May 20, 2024, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Emhoff will speak on June 22 at the groundbreaking of the memorial to victims of the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)