Nicki Minaj addressed the cancellation of her Manchester gig after due to her arrest in the Netherlands this weekend, as she continued her tour in Birmingham on Sunday.

The rapper is ‘working non-stop’ to get her Manchester show rescheduled after it was cancelled gig at the city’s Co-Op Live arena on Saturday just half an hour before she was supposed to be on stage after she was held at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on suspicion of possession of soft drugs.

Seemingly addressing the situation in during her Birmingham concert on Sunday, she lashed out at trolls who taunted her over her arrest for hours the day before.

She shouted to her fans: ‘Guess who’s still winning, bi**ch!!!’

Footage posted online showed Nicki saying: ‘I love you… and I’m so sorry.’

Nicki Minaj addressed the cancellation of her Manchester gig after due to her arrest in the Netherlands this weekend, as she continued her tour in Birmingham on Sunday

She is ‘working non-stop’ to get her Manchester show rescheduled after it was cancelled when she was held at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on suspicion of possession of soft drugs

Sources say that the 41-year-old artist is desperate to ‘make it up’ to those who had paid for the gig by performing on another date and made the effort to meet fans in Manchester on Sunday.

A tour insider told The Sun: ‘Nicki is in pieces and knows her fans have badly been let down.

‘She knows her British fans spent a lot of money on coming to that show and her team is working non-stop to get it rescheduled.

‘Nicki understands why they are upset and she is so determined to make it up to them.

‘She likes to speak to her fans on a personal level. Nicki wants to make it right.’

The star revealed on social media that she had spent between five and six hours in a jail cell and suggested that she had been deliberately targeted by the police.

Nicki wrote on X: ‘Please please please accept my deepest and most sincere apologies.

‘They sure did know exactly how to hurt me today but this too, shall pass.

Seemingly addressing the situation in during her Birmingham concert on Sunday, she lashed out at trolls who taunted her over her arrest for hours the day before, after issuing a statement

‘They’ve been doing this over and over and over and over and over again and I’ve tried so hard to not discuss it b/c you guys deserve to just get the good stuff. I hate involving you in anything that isn’t for entertainment purposes only. (sic)’

Nicki’s Co-op Live Arena show in Manchester was cancelled at the last minute on Saturday night after she was arrested in Amsterdam.

Thousands of fans were allowed into the troubled venue despite the star being detained on suspicion of possessing soft drugs at Schiphol Airport. She was released from custody a few hours later.

Footage emerged of supporters queuing up in the hours before the scheduled gig, chanting ‘Free Nicki Minaj’ as they held onto hope that the star would be allowed to fly to the UK in time to perform.

Minaj, who live-streamed her arrest on social media, was fined and eventually allowed to go free by police shortly before 9pm – hours after her show was due to begin.

Footage from inside Co-op Live, which is the UK’s biggest indoor arena with a capacity of 23,500, showed fans waiting patiently for the star to arrive – despite seemingly receiving no updates on her whereabouts.

When an announcement was finally made, fans were heard booing and shouting in disbelief, with organisers saying they were ‘deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused’.

Fans leave the Manchester Co-op Live venue after the Nicki Minaj show was postponed

Disappointed fans are seen leaving the arena after being told that tonight’s show was called off

Nicki Minaj filmed herself seemingly getting arrested for allegedly ‘carrying drugs’ while traveling from Amsterdam to Manchester for her next show

Hundreds of fans queueing outside Manchester’s Co-op Live arena ahead of the scheduled show were filmed this evening chanting ‘Free Nicki Minaj’

Footage from inside the venue, which has a capacity of 23,500, showed fans waiting patiently for the star to arrive

Nicki Minaj fans left the Manchester arena after waiting hours to see their favourite artist perform

A private plane, believed to belong to Nicki Minaj, departs from Schiphol East airport after the rapper was released by police

The American singer, known for the songs Starships, Super Bass and Anaconda, had been due to take to the stage at 6.30pm, but this was initially pushed back to 7pm.

Ticketholders were told to head into the arena and footage showed thousands of people in their seats before news eventually emerged that the show had been called off.

It is the latest complication to hit the problem-plagued Co-Op Live Arena, which suffered a string of cancellations when it was due to open last month.

A statement from Amsterdam’s Royal Military Constabulary read: ‘We have just released a 41-year-old American woman who we arrested this afternoon at Schiphol on suspicion of exporting soft drugs.

‘After consultation with the Public Prosecution Service, the suspect was fined and can continue her journey.’

Speaking to Sky News at around 9.15pm, Major Robert van Kapel of the military police said that she had been released from their custody around 20 minutes earlier.

He added that he believed she had set off on her onward journey, though would not disclose further details.

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Minaj for comment.

Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena has been plagued by issues from its testing to eventual opening earlier this month

Members of Minaj’s fanbase, known as the ‘Barbz’, wore her trademark pink to the concert

Latest in a string of issues for Co-op Live

Manchester’s Co-Op Live Arena has been plagued by issues from its testing to eventual opening earlier this month.

Here is a timeline of what has happened:

April 20

Headaches for Co-op Arena emerged after capacity for a test event was reduced with just hours’ notice.

Rick Astley did perform at the arena, however, and there were reports on social media that the event was a success.

April 22

Yet more issues came when comedian Peter Kay’s performances were postponed with less than 48 hours’ notice.

His original dates were shifted to April 29 and 30, with Kay writing on social media that he was ‘truly gutted’ for his fans.

Kay wrote: ‘Obviously, it’s a brand new venue and it’s important that everything is finished and safe for full capacity audiences.

‘Fortunately, we’ve been able to reschedule the shows to next week (I’ll have to miss my Bums and Tums class) but hopefully I’ll see you then.’

A spokesman for the arena said that ‘consistent total power supply to our fully electric sustainable venue’ was two days behind and there needed to be more time to test it ‘thoroughly’.

April 25

Following a slew of issues, general manager Gary Roden resigned.

His departure also came in the wake of a backlash against him claiming to the BBC that grassroots music venues were often ‘poorly run’.

The Music Venue Trust criticised Mr Roden in a statement of its own, telling the NME that grassroots music venues are not ‘poorly run’, and it is ‘disrespectful and disingenuous to suggest otherwise’.

Rebecca Kane Burton, an ex-boss of London’s O2 Arena, was then announced as interim general manager.

April 26

Peter Kay and The Black Keys both had to reschedule dates because of the venue not being ‘ready’.

Kay’s gigs were moved to May 23 and May 24, and he said it was ‘very disappointing but your safety is important, and I won’t compromise that’ on X, formerly Twitter.

The new date for the US rock band The Black Keys became May 15.

In a statement, Co-op Live also said that there is ‘reassurance’ for fans that dates for US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, real name Julius Dubose, on May 1, and American singer Olivia Rodrigo’s performances on May 3 and 4 would be going ahead.

May 1

Both A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Olivia Rodrigo dates are postponed.

This was just over an hour before A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was set to perform, with the venue saying that there was a problem during the soundcheck.

A component of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system used to direct air had separated from the ductwork, and the installer, contractor and third-party inspector would now have to test each nozzle to confirm they are free from the defect, the Oak View Group said.

Two hours after cancelling A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, the venue then said that Rodrigo’s gigs would not go ahead on May 3 and 4.

May 2

Take That said they would be moving their May shows from the Co-op Live to the AO Arena because of ‘ongoing technical issues’.

Earlier that day another band, Keane, announced their May 5 gig at the venue had been postponed thanks to issues that were ‘entirely beyond our control’.

The venue said it would be taking ‘a short pause to events at Co-op Live to fully ensure the safety and security of fans and artists visiting the venue’.

May 14

Live music finally got under way at the Co-op Live arena after Manchester band Elbow opened the new venue as its first headliners.

Frontman Guy Garvey told the audience those who had been working on the building had been ‘so excited today, so nervous and so excited’, in a video shared on X.

May 25

Nicki Minaj is arrested in the Netherlands hours before she is due to fly to the UK to perform at the Co-op Live Arena.

Dutch police said at around 9pm that they released their ‘suspect and she can now move on’, but Live Nation announced soon after that the show, originally set to have doors open at 6.30pm, had been postponed.

Fans said they were unsure if they would be able to make the rescheduled performance.

Frankie Harper, 20, from Andover, Hampshire, said: ‘(I’m) distraught to say the least. It definitely hurts more that it was on my birthday. Not sure what happens with the £100s that you spend on a train and hotel.’

Nord Herida, 23, who lives in Barnsley and travelled an hour to attend the concert, said he had felt before the postponement that his time was ‘being wasted’ inside the arena.

He added that his friend had travelled four hours from Ipswich to get to the gig and that they had been waiting since 1pm at the arena.

‘(I’m) pissed not (going to) lie, they have taken this long to tell us,’ Mr Herida said.

‘Like I work, I can’t just take a day off.’

Super fan Connor Wynne told Sky that he had been queueing since before 8am this morning to get a front row position for the show.

He said he and his friends were holding out hope of seeing the star after they ‘heard a helicopter go over’.

But soon after, fans’ hopes of seeing their favourite singer were dashed when organisers announced the show was being postponed.

‘Nicki Minaj’s scheduled performance at Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday 25th May has been postponed,’ a statement online said.

‘Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance which will be announced ASAP.

‘Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible.’

It added: ‘We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused. More information will be available at your point of purchase.’

Minaj went silent on social media at around 4pm this evening following a series of social media posts on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram.

In them, she said that police had told her they found drugs in her luggage after items were checked by customs.

She wrote that ‘they found weed’ and her security ‘already advised them’ that items belong to them, and not her.

Minaj also claimed that her bags had been taken by ‘customs’, with someone who looked like he worked for Schiphol Airport saying that the fact she filmed security checks prompted her luggage to be searched again, in a video shared on Instagram.

She also alleged: ‘They’ve been trying to stop me from coming to every show. They took my bags before I could see them. Put it on the plane. Now saying they’re waiting on customs.’

Minaj also live-streamed what appeared to be a conversation with an officer, who asked her to get into a van so she could go to a police station.

‘I’m not carrying drugs, I’m not going in there,’ she says in the clip.

She then asks the officer if she is ‘under arrest’ to which the the Dutch policeman replies ‘yes’.

Minaj is told by another policeman that she will get a ‘lawyer’ and to stop filming, and then gets inside the van.

Promoters Live Nation and the venue Co-op Live have been contacted for comment.

Co-op Live was plagued by issues before opening earlier this month.

The venue postponed its first official show several times after safety concerns with the performer, US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, moving his gig to rival AO Arena over the delays.

However, the UK’s biggest arena had live music on May 14, when British rock band Elbow took to the stage.

Nicki Minaj has been arrested in the Netherlands hours before she was due to fly to the UK to perform a concert.

The 41-year-old American singer, known for the songs Starships, Super Bass and Anaconda, was due to perform at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on Saturday evening as part of her Pink Friday World Tour.

A statement to the PA news agency from the National Police Corps said a woman, 41, was arrested after allegedly trying to take soft drugs from Schiphol Airport to another country.

They confirmed at around 7.30pm that she remains under arrest and the force is still investigating.

Minaj’s show at Co-op Live was originally set to have doors open at 6.30pm but this was changed to 7pm.

In a series of social media posts on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram, Minaj claimed that police said they found drugs in her luggage after items were checked by customs.

She wrote that ‘they found weed’ and her security ‘already advised them’ that items belong to them, and not her.

Minaj also claimed that her bags had been taken by ‘customs’, with someone who looked like he worked for Schiphol Airport saying that the fact she filmed security checks prompted her luggage to be searched again, in a video shared on Instagram.

She also alleged: ‘They’ve been trying to stop me from coming to every show. They took my bags before I could see them. Put it on the plane. Now saying they’re waiting on customs.’

Minaj also live-streamed what appeared to be a conversation with an officer, who asked her to get into a van so she could go to a police station.

‘I’m not carrying drugs, I’m not going in there,’ she says in the clip.

She then asks the officer if she is ‘under arrest’ to which the the Dutch policeman replies ‘yes’.

Minaj is told by another policeman that she will get a ‘lawyer’ and to stop filming, and then gets inside the van.

Before the alleged arrest, Minaj shared a series of posts on X (previously known as Twitter ), about her bags getting pulled for a thorough search at the airport

‘They’ve been trying everything they possibly can to TRY to stop this tour,’ she wrote in one tweet, before theorizing that they were trying to ‘plant things’ in her luggage

Minaj also tweeted that her ‘filming every single thing made’ airline employees and police ‘mad’

Promoters Live Nation and the venue Co-op Live have been contacted for comment.

Co-op Live has been plagued by issues before opening earlier this month.

The venue postponed its first official show several times after safety concerns with the performer, US rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, moving his gig to rival AO Arena over the delays.

However, the UK’s biggest arena had live music on May 14, when British rock band Elbow took to the stage.