News November 21, 2018

Nicki Minaj reportedly duped into appearing at fake Chinese festival

Image: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Both Nicki Minaj and her dedicated fans are furious right now, with the artist reportedly booked to perform at a fake music festival in China.

As the ABC reports, Nicki Minaj was booked to perform at the DWP China music festival on Sunday alongside the likes of DJ Snake, Luis Fonsi, and more.

While DWP (which stands for the Djakarta Warehouse Project) is a legitimate annual Indonesian music festival, it’s purported Chinese debut was apparently not what it seemed.

In a post shared on the DWP China Facebook account last week, organisers revealed that the event that was scheduled to take place on the weekend was actually a fake.

“The event rumoured to take place in Shanghai on 17th & 18th of November 2018 is an unauthorised use of the DWP trademark,” they wrote. “DWP as a brand, has no association with the event.”

“The alleged lineup artwork of DWP China, which has been circulating online is unauthorised.”

https://www.facebook.com/dwpchina/photos/a.634269106918200/792862747725501/?type=3&theater

Unfortunately, Nicki Minaj – who was apparently set to receive a $3 million performance fee for her set – was not made aware of the fraudulent nature of the festival until she had already arrived in Shanghai and travelled to the venue.

Fans in attendance had already paid up to up to 3,000 yuan ($593) for tickets to the event, and after a lengthy delay, were informed by festival staff that Minaj “refused to perform”.

While fans were later promised refunds, the show’s organisers – Yatai Huaying – explained that Nicki Minaj was to blame for the no-show.

“Minaj failed to arrive on time, which severely delayed the show,” they explained in a statement. “After she arrived, she still refused to perform despite fans clamouring for her and the organisers negotiating with her for two hours.”

In a video recorded after the fact, Nicki Minaj apologised to her fans while at the airport, promising she’ll make up for the weekend’s incident.

“I’ll be back you guys, for my real fans in Shanghai, in China, I love you so much,” Minaj explained. “I’ll be back with a better partner this time, OK?”