Rose McGowan 'stands with Nicki Minaj' after her controversial vaccine claims, in a cryptic Instagram post referencing cult leaders and the 'powerful elite'

• Rose McGowan said she "stands with Nicki Minaj" after the rapper's vaccine controversy.
• Minaj said she wouldn't be getting the COVID-19 vaccine just to attend the Met Gala.
• McGowan posted a video on Instagram and Twitter, referencing the "powerful elite" and "cult leaders."

Actor and activist Rose McGowan said she "stands with Nicki Minaj" after the rapper made controversial comments about the coronavirus vaccine.

On Monday September 13, rapper Nicki Minaj tweeted to her 22.7 million followers that she wouldn't be attending this year's Met Gala because entry rules required her to have had the COVID-19 vaccine. This set off a chain of events leading to Minaj feuding online with world leaders, commentators, and journalists.

On Friday, McGowan posted a video on her Instagram, where she has 804,000 followers, and to Twitter where she has over a million, with a cryptic caption. The short video shows McGowan overlaid in front of a photo of Minaj, with "Rake it Up," by rapper Yo Gotti featuring Minaj plays. The on-screen text reads, "I STAN/D WITH NICKI MINAJ."

"Both of us know the powerful elite & it's likely you do not," the caption says. "If you are freaking out because she said something you don't believe, it's most likely because you are scared to examine the thought too closely."

McGowan added that "millionaires have become billionaires, billionaires are now trillionaires" and urged people to "think" and "question."

"Just cos you want to believe what your cult leaders say, doesn't make it fact," she said.

On September 13, Minaj said her cousin's friend in Trinidad had "became impotent" and suffered from swollen testicles after he received the vaccine, and she needed to do "more research" before choosing to get it herself.

The CDC has stated there is no evidence the vaccine causes infertility in men or women. Several doctors have also debunked the claim.

Minaj's comments caught the attention of journalists and international government officials. England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said in a press briefing that Minaj should be "ashamed." Trinidad and Tobago's health minister Terrence Deyalsingh said in a press conference on Wednesday that there was no evidence of Minaj's claims about her cousin's friend's testicles.

Minaj has since told her Instagram followers she has been suspended from posting on Twitter because the company "didn't like" what she was saying. Twitter has denied this.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, responded to Minaj's claims on CNBC, warning the artist that she needs to "think twice" about what she posts about COVID-19 because of her large platform even if her tweets were "innocent."

Insider has reached out to McGowan for clarification about her Instagram post but did not immediately receive a response.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.