Nicki Minaj and her husband Kenneth Petty are facing a lawsuit claiming that the celebrity couple harassed and intimidated the woman who accused Petty of rape in the 1990s.
In a complaint obtained by USA TODAY, the plaintiff brought several claims against the “Super Bass” rapper and Petty, including witness intimidation, emotional distress, harassment, assault and battery. The filing was submitted Friday to the Eastern District of New York.
Jennifer Hough’s lawyer, Tyrone A. Blackburn, wrote in the filing that Minaj, 38, and Petty, 43, intimidated Hough, directly and indirectly, pressuring her to not speak about 1994 rape charges against Petty after the case became public knowledge on social media.
USA TODAY reached out to Minaj’s representatives for comment. Petty’s lawyer, Michael A. Goldstein, declined comment to USA TODAY.
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Hough claims that after Petty was arrested in 2020 for failing to register as a sex offender in California, Minaj proposed that Hough and Minaj’s publicist meet to make a statement recanting Petty’s 1994 rape charge. Hough declined.
“Before they got off the phone, Plaintiff said to Defendant Minaj, ‘I need you to know woman to woman, that this happened.’ Defendant Minaj hung up the phone,” the complaint read. “Within days of this conversation, Plaintiff and her family suffered an onslaught of harassing calls and unsolicited visits.”
Hough is asking for a trial by jury for her claims and plans to seek damages as well as statutory damages and attorney’s fees.
According to the New York State’s Sex Offender registry, Petty was convicted of attempted first-degree rape in April 1995 for a 1994 assault that occurred when both he and the victim were 16. He was sentenced to 18 to 54 months in state prison. According to New York State Department of Corrections records, he served just under four years and was released in January 1999.
Blackburn, Hough’s lawyer, says Hough was left with “no choice other than to fight back.”
“As a result of the Pettys’ actions, Ms. Hough has incurred serious debt after having to move three times in a span of seven months,” Blackburn told USA TODAY in a statement. “She also quit her job out of fear of being found and attacked. The Pettys acted in concert to destroy Ms. Hough’s life, now they will be held accountable for their actions.”
Contributing: Erin Jensen and Kim Willis
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