UPDATE: Nicki Minaj Says Delay In Responding To Harassment Lawsuit Was An ‘Innocent Mistake’
Nicki Minaj is addressing her delay in responding to the harassment lawsuit filed against her and her husband, Kenneth Petty.
As we previously reported, Jennifer Hough is the woman who accused Minaj’s husband of rape back in 1994. She filed a lawsuit in August, accusing Petty of “intimidating” her while claiming Minaj also “harassed” and “threatened” “Plaintiff [Hough] to recant her legitimate claim that Defendant Petty raped her.” To note, both Petty and Hough were 16 and living in Jamaica, Queens at the time of the incident. Petty was initially charged with first-degree rape. He denied the rape charges but subsequently pleaded guilty to attempted rape, and spent over four years in prison.
RELATED: UPDATE: Nicki Minaj Finally Responds to Jennifer Hough’s Witness-Intimidation Lawsuit
Earlier this month we exclusively reported that Hough had requested a $15 million default judgment in her witness intimidation case against the famous couple. The rap star’s attorney Judd Burstein responded on Minaj’s behalf days later—in which he requested Hough’s attorney Tyrone Blackburn to withdraw the petition and grant an extension to respond. However, Blackburn told The Daily Beast in an email: “I said NO! I told him to prepare his opposition to my request for default judgment and explain to the court why his client and her husband believe they’re both above the law.”
Despite this, Nicki is now explaining the holdup. In court documents dated Oct. 15 and viewed by Complex, the rap star explained that “My failure to respond to the complaint was the product of an innocent mistake, and I ask the court to excuse the delay so that I can defend what I believe to be an entirely frivolous case which plaintiff’s counsel has brought against me in an effort to use my name to generate publicity for himself,” Minaj is quoted as saying in the documents.
Furthermore, webpage ItsKenBarbie previously provided documents, confirming the Petty’s were served on Sept. 13. The couple was given 21 days from that date to respond to the complaint or face default judgment.
However, in the latest court docs, among the argued discrepancies are that Minaj has stated in a sworn declaration that a process server hasn’t been truthful, Complex notes. She claims that her husband was never served with a copy of the summons and complaint. It was said that process server in question served such documents to a “Black male, 40 years old, 200 lbs.” with black hair and brown eyes.
Minaj reportedly hit back saying, “In fact, my husband is approximately 5’9’’ tall and weighs no more than 175 pounds,” Minaj is quoted as saying in the latest documents. “Further, there is no person who resides in our house or who was present there on September 15, 2021, who fits the description contained in the affidavit of service.”
As the news site notes, Burstein, among other things, is aiming for a motion to dismiss the amended complaint.
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