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Nicki Minaj says her high school won’t let her come back to visit

Nicki Minaj took to Twitter to discuss a recent rejection she experienced regarding a visit to her high school.
Nicki Minaj took to Twitter to discuss a recent rejection she experienced regarding a visit to her high school.
(Craig Barritt / Getty Images)
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Nicki Minaj won’t be heading back to high school any time soon.

The musical phenomenon’s offer to speak to those following in her footsteps got a “no thank you” from the principal at her New York alma mater, the singer said Thursday.

“That school changed my life and I wanted to pay it forward to the students there now,” the 31-year-old tweeted. “I was really looking forward to it.”

In response to a fan, she said -- sarcastically or sincerely? -- she guessed she wasn’t good enough.

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“It was the first time I felt like I really fit in,” Minaj told Teen Vogue in May 2013. “Everyone was creative. For once, I didn’t feel like there was something weird about me.”

Graduates of the well-known performing-arts institution, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, include Jennifer Aniston, Adrian Grenier and Liza Minnelli.

So why the cold shoulder this time? Perhaps the rapper’s booty-baring, selfie-taking, costume-wearing self was too much to handle?

Though Minaj tweeted that she’d been given no reason, there appear to have been a few. The proposed visit, according to a New York Daily News source, would have been part of an MTV production that required an entire film crew. That in itself would have “directly” hindered daily instruction.

While the production was aiming for specific shooting dates because of Minaj’s schedule, LaGuardia officials reportedly suggested filming on a weekend instead. That didn’t work for MTV, the source said, noting that MTV had also approached the institution on short notice.

That’s not to say the school didn’t want to highlight the Grammy-nominated artist. “Of course alumni are welcome back to our campuses and we love to celebrate their success, providing it does not interrupt the educational process,” an education official told the New York Daily News.

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Even so, Minaj’s supporters jumped to her defense. “How could the principal pass up such an amazing opportunity, just baffles me,” one fan wrote. Another quipped, “I’m still in disbelief that the principal declined her visitation to motivate. Does she not know how much Nicki impacts this generation?”

Minaj’s influence runs deep, so much so that some fans pointed to her as their inspiration to continue their education. Messages like, “Nicki in honestly the ONLY person that motivates me to go to school. My parents don’t really push me like that,” popped up more than once.

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