Nicki Minaj cancels New Orleans concert at The Smoothie King Center just HOURS before show due to illness: 'The last thing she would want to do to the fans'

Nicki Minaj cancelled her concert in New Orleans just hours before it was set to kick off.

The 41-year-old rapper – who recently brought out Tyga  as a surprise guest – had a stop on her Pink Friday 2 World Tour set at The Smoothie King Center on Monday, however, it was abruptly cancelled.

The Starships hitmaker was forced to make the tough decision to pull out of the show due to an illness which has worsened.

A source told DailyMail.com on Monday: ‘Nicki has been very sick with the flu for the last few days. She started getting sick last week and pulled through for the Rolling Loud festival show on Friday.

‘Unfortunately, after the show, she found out she had the flu and only got worse.’

Nicki Minaj – pictured performing at Rolling Loud in Inglewood, California on Friday – has reportedly cancelled her concert in New Orleans just hours before it was set to kick off; she is seen performing in Inglewood on Friday

As Nicki has one of the most diehard fanbases in hip-hop, no doubt the decision to pull the plug was tough to make for the star.

The source added: ‘Canceling the shows is the last thing she would want to do to the fans, but she had no choice.’

 Fox 8 in New Orleans was the first to report about the abrupt cancellation as they had been contacted by arena personnel. 

The site reports that no reason for the cancelation was provided nor was there any information if the date would be rescheduled.

Fox 8 obtained an email announcing the cancelation to arena food and beverage vendors.

A worker who answered the public safety phone number for The Smoothie King Center also confirmed the show had been cancelled to the publication.

Ticketmaster did not confirm the cancelation nor did the entertainment company provide contact for a spokesperson to the publication.

The  American ticket sales and distribution company and Minaj herself have yet to address the cancelation publicly.

A source told DailyMail.com on Monday: ‘Nicki has been very sick with the flu for the last few days. She started getting sick last week and pulled through for the Rolling Loud festival show on Friday. Unfortunately, after the show, she found out she had the flu and only got worse’

Doors had been set to open for the concert at 7pm CDT with opener Monica hitting the stage at 8pm with it finishing off with Nicki beginning at 9pm.

Earlier this month the Roman’s Revenge hitmaker surprised concertgoers at her Las Vegas Pink Friday 2 tour stop when she brought out Tyga as a special guest.

The rap artist — whose tour kicked off this month — shocked fans as her 34-year-old longtime collaborator took the stage.

Tyga, born Michael Stevenson, later took to Instagram to share outtakes from the performance.

He used a lyric from the New York-bred star’s song Everybody in his caption: ‘Ain’t gang if ya let shi slide.’

And Nicki dropped in the comments to write, ‘They love you in real life.’

Tyga graced the stage wearing a gold, yellow, and black leather biker jacket and matching baggy pants.

He wore a black crew neck T-shirt underneath his outer layer and covered his brown eyes with a pair of glossy, black sunglasses.

Earlier this month the Roman’s Revenge hitmaker surprised concertgoers at her Las Vegas Pink Friday 2 tour stop when she brought out Tyga as a special guest

Tyga, born Michael Stevenson, later took to Instagram to share outtakes from the performance

The 41-year-old rap artist — whose tour kicked off this month — shocked fans as her 34-year-old longtime collaborator took the stage

The longtime hitmaker’s long hair was styled in twists.

Gray and black gloves were also part of his look, and he stacked multiple diamond-encrusted chains around his neck.

Photos shared on his Instagram profile showed pyro effects during the show, as well as color-changing neon lights.

Included in the carousel was an image of Minaj on stage wearing shredded jeans and a pink bikini top.

She added a matching hot pink bandana, topping her long and wavy jet black tresses.

Nicki took to her Instagram Stories to re-share the post, writing, ‘Rack rack city in #gagcity bich!!!!’

Tyga graced the stage wearing a yellow and black leather biker jacket and matching baggy pants

Gray and black gloves were part of Tyga’s look, and he stacked multiple diamond-encrusted chains around his neck

Nicki took to her Instagram Stories to re-share Tyga’s post, writing, ‘Rack rack city in #gagcity bich!!!!’

It was a reference to Tyga’s 2012 hit Rack City, which he performed for the crowd in a video clip shared in the post.

The first show of Nicki’s tour was in Oakland, California on Friday, March 1.

One of her big fans enthusiastically took to X to praise the Trinidad-born singer afterward.

‘Oakland stand tf up!! The #PinkFriday2Tour kicked off and Nicki Minaj looked STUNNING. The production is next level, the VIP passes were worth it, and there wasn’t an empty seat in the STADIUM. The UNDISPUTED Queen of Rap has once again shown why she’s on “a whole ‘nother level,”‘ the emphatic post read.