Nessa Diab, longtime partner of Colin Kaepernick, has accused Jay-Z and Roc Nation of co-opting Kaepernick’s protest movement and claims they’re using the same playbook against Nicki Minaj.
The longtime partner of former NFL star and activist Colin Kaepernick is backing Nicki Minaj in her ongoing beef with Jay-Z, Roc Nation, and CEO Desiree Perez.
In a tweet that quickly caught fire on X (formerly Twitter), Nessa claimed that the “smear campaign tactics” Nicki says she’s been dealing with from Roc Nation are eerily similar to what Kaepernick allegedly faced years ago during his NFL protest era.
“@NICKIMINAJ exposing the smear campaign tactics that Jay Z, Roc Nation, Desiree Perez did to her behind the scenes is VERY similar to what I was told they did to @Kaepernick7,” Nessa wrote.
“When Jay purposely co-opted Colin’s protest by siding with the NFL to help ‘their image’ after they blackballed Colin for his protest.”
In 2016, Kaepernick famously took a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality and systemic racism. The move sparked national debate and backlash. After opting out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, he was never signed by another NFL team. Many believe he was blackballed by the league.
In 2019, Kaepernick and former teammate Eric Reid settled a collusion grievance with the NFL for an undisclosed amount, rumored to be around $10 million.
That same year, Jay-Z’s Roc Nation inked a reported $25 million, five-year partnership with the NFL to oversee live music entertainment, including the Super Bowl halftime show. Many fans and activists saw the deal as a betrayal, especially since Kaepernick was still without a team.
Nessa now suggests that Roc Nation didn’t just “move on” from Colin’s movement, they actively used it to boost their brand and smooth over the NFL’s bruised public image.
Nicki recently aired out her grievances, claiming Jay-Z owes her millions from the sale of TIDAL and that Roc Nation has tried to suppress her career for years. While some brushed it off as typical music industry drama, Nessa’s tweet added weight to Nicki’s claims.
