The footage in question is from October 2023, when the Eiffel Tower was illuminated for Pink October to raise awareness of breast cancer.
On Dec. 7, 2023, a viral post on X claimed the Eiffel Tower was lit up in glittering pink that day in honor of rapper and singer Nicki Minaj’s latest album release, “Pink Friday 2.”
While Minaj’s album was indeed released that day (or, more precisely, at midnight ET on Dec. 8), the above video does not show the Eiffel Tower being lit up in her honor. The video was likely taken earlier in 2023, or in a prior year when the Eiffel Tower was lit up with pink lights for Pink October, a breast cancer awareness month.
The Eiffel Tower’s official website posted about this on Sept. 25, 2023, and noted that the lighting has been taking place since 2014:
On October 1, 2023, the Eiffel Tower will be lit up in pink, as it has been every year since 2014. The pink illumination will last all evening on October 1, replacing the usual golden lighting, from 10pm until 00.45 pm. There will still be the sparkles, a favorite feature of the Parisian sky, during the first five minutes of every hour. A color that suits the Iron Lady perfectly!
With the City of Paris’ active support, the launch of “Pink October”, the major breast cancer information and awareness campaign, takes place in Paris on the evening of October 1. This year, the launch of the campaign takes place on the Champs-Elysées, and along with the Eiffel Tower, 2 other parisian buildings will be lit up in pink : the Arc de Triomphe and the National Assembly.
We found no official announcement on their website or social media channels claiming that this lighting had anything to do with Minaj. A highlight series of Instagram stories shared on their official account shows images and videos of the pink lighting from many years prior. They also posted about the lit-up tower in October:
We found the same video from the X post (evidenced by a shot of the same individual walking across in a numbered t-shirt) shared on TikTok in early October 2023.
Given that this video is from an older post, and there is no evidence that it has anything to do with Minaj’s December 2023 album release, we rate this claim as False.