Nicki Minaj Removed as Codefendant in Husband’s Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Nicki Minaj has been removed from her husband’s sexual assault lawsuit as a co-defendant.

According to reporter Meghann Cuniff, Jennifer Hough has revised the lawsuit against Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, in which she accused the couple of trying to force her to recant her allegations of a rape that occurred in 1994. The amendment includes additional details about Petty’s criminal case and designates Petty as the sole defendant, though Minaj is still “prominently mentioned,” Cuniff reports. 

A woman who sued Nicki Minaj and her husband, Kenneth Petty, over Petty attempting to rape her in 1994 amended her complaint today to include evidence from original case.

Nicki is no longer a defendant, but claims against Petty are proceeding and Nicki is prominently mentioned. pic.twitter.com/iKfGuVCItT

— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) December 23, 2023

In the lawsuit, Hough accused Minaj of employing threats to coerce her into retracting statements regarding Petty’s 1995 conviction for attempted rape.

However, Petty’s legal team contends that Hough’s actions aim to embarrass both Petty and Minaj, attributing her motives to Minaj’s high celebrity status. 

“Plaintiff publicly filed the unnecessary sixteen ‘supplemental’ exhibits with her letter motion, fourteen of which concerned Mr. Petty’s arrest in 1994,” wrote attorney Steven D. Isser in an opposition brief back in August.

According to Isser, the Plaintiff and their legal representatives engaged with the media through interviews and extensive social media posts, discussing the exhibits and proposed amendments to the complaint. 

“That it is not necessary to include such ‘evidence’ attached to a complaint, combined with Plaintiff and her counsel’s public statements concerning the ‘evidence’ and Proposed Amendment, demonstrates that Plaintiff’s true purpose in making the motion was in bad faith.”

Petty is presently under house arrest due to a probation violation after it was determined he threatened Offset on Instagram Live. 

Hough’s attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, voluntarily dismissed Minaj from the suit in 2022 and filed a motion to amend his complaint in August. But, according to Cuniff, Blackburn signed the amended complaint on Dec. 13, which appeared in the case file ten days later. 

 Read the full filing here: Steven Isser’s Filing 

Read the amended complaint here: Hough’s Complaint