PopWrapped has been following the accusations against Nicki Minaj and husband Kenneth Petty following a case which began in 2021. Updates below. Trigger: This article does mention sexual assault and rape.
August 2021, Nicki Minaj was hit with a harassment lawsuit in which Jennifer Hough initially came forward with accusations that Onika Maraj (professionally known as Nicki Minaj) had harassed her regarding her husband Kenneth’s court case in which he served time for sexual assault/rape in 1995. Nicki has since then been dropped from the harassment lawsuit. Kenneth still named on ongoing lawsuit.
Though there was confusion on the logistics of the case – Jennifer claimed during the time of the case that Minaj and Petty had harassed them. Though she didn’t directly say Minaj or Petty was harrasing her, she did say that members of their camps were the ones harrassing Hough to recant her previous statements to the court.
“In an interview with The Daily Beast, Jennifer described the “mindfuck” that began last March, when Petty’s arrest in California prompted a web of family members and neighbors to contact her on his and Minaj’s behalf.” Daily Beast
Although Jennifer said she only knew Petty in passing and never met Minaj in person, the three share a complex network. Jennifer’s brother allegedly shares a cousin with Petty, and she said her estranged adoptive cousin, Shiran Grayson, once lived with Minaj’s friend TT. As various figures emerged from the woodwork to speak with Jennifer in the wake of Petty’s arrest, it became impossible for her to know who she could trust.Daily Beast
Ms. Jennifer Hough initially alleged that Minaj offered to fly Jennifer Hough out to Los Angeles in efforts to “Help Her”. Jennifer also noted she remembered telling Minaj “Woman to woman, this really happened”. Now, per court documents, updates have been made, and there are new documents to go over.
“What they tried to do to Nicki was disgraceful. They finally realized that they had to surrender without Nicki paying a penny. And now, Nicki and I are going to make them pay for this in the courts,” said Judd Burstein, Minaj’s attorney to Vulture. “We have the right, under the law, to seek what are known as sanctions, which would require them to pay Nicki’s legal fees—which are substantial,” he continued.
Earlier in the case, Hough alleged Minaj and Petty were offering them a monetary settlement (around $500,000) in request that Jennifer recant her statements to the court. In which Hough’s lawyers claimed Minaj and Petty were apart of one of the most dangerous gangs in New York, ‘Mac Baller Brims’. Which has now been proven to be false, and Minaj has denied gang claims, which evidence was not provided to the court that Minaj was to be affiliated with them.
Hough also claimed Minaj and Petty had sent gang affiliates as an ‘intimidation tactic’
“I was quickly surrounded by my fans, particularly in this instance because my pink Rolls Royce was in the direct sightline of apartment buildings across the street from where I had stopped. While my husband and I recognized a few friends and acquaintances from the neighborhood that night, including Rico Danna, an artist whom I intend to sign to my label, none of them belong to any gang. Further, we did not plan to meet anyone in advance because we had not planned to stop there. Once I came out of the car, the news traveled quickly, and people just showed up.” — “Neither I, my husband, nor anyone I knew made any ‘gang’ signs that night. I did not mention [Hough] or this case that night. Nor did I hear anyone, including my husband, mention [Hough] or this case that night.”Nicki Minaj to Court Judge, Eric Vitaliano (Via Video)
It is important to note, Nicki Minaj did speak with Jennifer Hough via phone call, however, a monetary settlement never was mentioned during the phone call.
“During the call, I never asked her to change her story. I never offered her any money in return for a statement, and I did not threaten her with any type of harm if she chose not to provide a statement. In fact, I emphatically told her that I did not want her to lie about anything and to tell the truth about what she had just revealed to me only if she was comfortable with doing so,” Nicki explained, per VIBE report.
Hough stated, “I’m not saying it didn’t happen, but maybe it was just a misunderstanding.” Court Documents read.
So what exactly are the updates? As of January 19, 2022, District Court Judge Eric N. Vitaliano of Brooklyn, New York has signed off on the dismissal of the harassment case against Minaj as Jennifer Hough has decided to voluntarily dismiss her claims against Nicki Minaj as evidence is not able to prove that Minaj is guilty of harassing Jennifer. Petty said to still be on the ongoing lawsuit.
