Don Lemon is responding after Nicki Minaj targeted him with a homophobic slur in a late-night post, attacking his recent reporting from Minnesota.
On Sunday, Jan. 18, the independent journalist shared video from a protest in the Twin Cities, where activists disrupted a church service at a congregation led by David Easterwood — a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who also serves as a pastor.
Easterwood is listed as a pastor on the Cities Church website. He is also identified as the Acting Director of ICE’s Saint Paul Field Office in a Dec. 19 cease-and-desist letter sent by St. Paul City Attorney Lyndsey M. Olson tied to an ICE-related incident.
“Minneapolis activists disrupted a church service where David Easterwood serves as a pastor, according to lawyer and activist @nekimal – Easterwood is also the acting field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in St. Paul, Minnesota,” the former CNN anchor, 59, wrote on Bluesky, posting alongside video from the protest.
Minaj reacted overnight on X (formerly Twitter), posting a message in all caps that included a homophobic slur aimed at Lemon and demanded that the protesters be jailed. She paired the post with an image of a Chucky doll.
Lemon — who is openly gay and married his longtime partner Tim Malone in 2024 — responded, criticizing Minaj’s understanding of journalism and dismissing her post as performative.
Minaj has become more vocal in recent months on political and social issues. In November, she publicly thanked President Donald Trump during a United Nations speech addressing religious violence in Nigeria. In that address, she said “faith is being attacked in too many places” and that “Christians are being targeted.”
Minaj’s use of a homophobic slur comes about a month after she appeared onstage with Erika Kirk at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest. After that event, she drew backlash for remarks some viewers interpreted as anti-transgender rhetoric.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, tensions between residents and ICE agents have escalated following several violent encounters connected to crackdowns. Those incidents include the shooting death of Renee Good in Minneapolis by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, as well as a separate shooting of a man by an ICE agent in North Minneapolis.
As public pressure builds, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the city has filed litigation seeking to end ICE’s deployment. “We cannot be at a place right now in America where we have two governmental entities that are literally fighting one another,” he said last week.
