Nicki Minaj Recalls Abortion, Talks Being Pro-Choice In Rolling Stone

“I thought I was going to die. I was a teenager. It was the hardest thing I’d ever gone through.” She ended up having an abortion, a decision she says has “haunted me all my life,” though it was the right choice for her at the time. “It’d be contradictory if I said I wasn’t pro-choice. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have anything to offer a child.”

Minaj wrote about the abortion in “Autobiography,” a song from her Sucka Free mixtape, and again on The Pinkprint track “All Things Go.” She says:

“Millions of people are gonna hear it. And you gotta watch everything you say — people find an issue with every fucking thing.”

In the cover story, Minaj also explains why she’s baring so much about her personal life now. “I struggled with ‘Do I express these feelings?’ And I decided there’s no reason for me to hide,” she says. “I’m a vulnerable woman, and I’m proud of that.”

Not surprisingly, the nipple-less cover image and photos were shot by Terry Richardson.

Image via Terry Richardson/Rolling Stone