Despite successfully evading a default judgement in the $20 million lawsuit from Jennifer Hough, Kenneth Petty’s alleged rape victim, Nicki Minaj has now come forth denying accusations of coercion, bribery, and gang affiliation.
Hough’s lawyers claimed Minaj and Petty were members of the Mac Baller Brims, allegedly known as one of the most dangerous gangs in New York. She also claimed the couple bribed her with upwards of $500,000 to change her story. Minaj denied these allegations, including those suggesting she and Petty sent over gang affiliates as an intimidation tactic.
As evidence, Hough’s legal team provided a video (below) of the rapper and her husband from an Oct. 2021 trip to Queens with members of the Bloods subset.
In documents obtained by AllHipHop, Minaj explained the video to Judge Eric Vitaliano, “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.”
The 39-year-old continued, “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.”
The Pink Friday rapper did admit to speaking with Hough via phone with the help of an associate named “Black.” However, Minaj denied ever offering Hough money. “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,” she explained.
Minaj also claimed that Hough stated, “I’m not saying it didn’t happen, but maybe it was just a misunderstanding.” Documents read, “In an effort to making it unmistakably clear that I was not going to pay her money, I responded by telling her that the indictment was my husband’s problem, not mine. He would have to live with the consequences of having chosen years ago to plead guilty to a crime which he did not commit […] I could not believe that it was so easy for this woman to imply that she may have exaggerated or lied after how much this man had suffered through as such a young boy.”
Later, Minaj offered the possibility of her publicist, Joe Carozza, helping Hough draft a new statement.
Petty is currently awaiting sentencing for failure to register as a sex offender when he and Minaj moved to California. He is facing a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a lifetime of supervised release. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 24.