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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Entertainment
Kenneth Axl

'Thank You For Saving Free Speech': Nicki Minaj Sparks Backlash Over Birthday Tribute to Elon Musk

Elon Musk Nicki Minaj SpaceX Twitter Inc.
Nicki Minaj thanks Elon Musk for 'saving free speech' in a birthday post on X, fuelling fresh debate over the platform. (Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC BY-SA 4.0)

Nicki Minaj sparked a fresh row over free speech on Saturday 27 June when she used X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, to wish him a happy birthday and thank him for 'saving free speech' in a selfie post shared with her millions of followers worldwide.

The birthday tribute came just weeks after Minaj made a surprise appearance at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, during a livestream about the company's planned Starship V3 launch. The Queens rapper has been leaning ever more publicly into her support for Musk, and her latest post knitted together two of his worlds, the rocket engineer and the self‑styled defender of online speech.

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