Nicki Minaj is making headlines again. But this time, it’s not because she’s feuding with another female rapper on social media; it’s regarding her husband Kenneth Petty. The 44-year-old Queens native has reportedly been ordered by a judge to settle the rape case filed by his sexual assault accuser Jennifer Hough back in 2021, who cited infliction of harassment, witness intimidation, and emotional dress.
In court documents obtained by AllHipHop, Judge James R. Cho has decided to move the case over to mediation, with hopes that both parties reach a settlement. “Parties to select a mediator by 12/20/2022 and complete mediation by 3/6/2023,” the docs revealed, as per the aforementioned publication. “[They] may participate in the mediation remotely. [Both sides] shall file a joint status report two weeks after completing the mediation, but no later than 3/20/2023, whichever date is earlier.”
Kenneth Petty’s sexual assault victim Jennifer Hough speaks on her conversation with Nicki Minaj and harassment. pic.twitter.com/ohfzhszWRp
— Rap Alert (Backup) (@rapalert4) September 22, 2021
In her lawsuit, Jennifer also alleged that Nicki had threatened her to retract her statement about Kenneth allegedly sexually assaulting her in 1994 when she was 16. He was convicted of first-degree attempted rape after pleading guilty to the charge, served four years behind bars, and was required to register as a sex offender upon his release. Kenneth says he only pleaded guilty in the hopes of receiving a lesser sentence.
Kenneth denies raping Jennifer, stressing in his court docs that the latter was a “willing participant” when they had their sexual encounter — a claim Jennifer’s legal team has vehemently denied. “If Petty believed Ms. Hough was a willing participant, he should have never [pleaded] guilty to attempted rape,” her attorney, Tyrone A. Blackburn, told XXL.
“A willing participant would not run 20 blocks to school after a sexual encounter and tell the school security/police that she was raped.” As previously reported, both Nicki and Kenneth are denying all allegations made against them, with Nicki having taken to her “Queen Radio” show to dispel Jennifer’s remarks about the father of her child.
My heart really goes out to Jennifer Hough because whether you believe her or not Kenneth HIMSELF pleaded guilty to attempted rape & that is enough for me. pic.twitter.com/MPeuv4vSvu
— raveen marie 🫶🏾 (@xoraveen) September 22, 2021
The “Hard White” lyricist asserted that Jennifer had tried to go back on her initial accusations against Kenneth when the case went to trial in 1995, but she was told that in doing so, she would’ve committed a crime by filing a false report. “And when the alleged accuser wrote a letter to the judge asking to recant the statements she was told that she would go to jail for 90 days, allegedly, if she recants the statement,” Nicki told her listeners.
The matter could potentially be reaching a settlement soon.