The lawsuit filed against Nicki Minaj by her husband’s accuser has been dropped voluntarily. In 1995, Kenneth Petty was convicted of attempted rape in the first-degree for assaulting Jennifer Hough in 1994 and spent four years in prison.
Hough filed the lawsuit against Minaj and Petty claiming that the couple had threatened her in an attempt to intimidate her into recanting her rape allegation against Petty. The lawsuit alleged that Hough was offered $20,000 to recant her allegation, and her brother was later offered $500,000 if she would recant.
According to Hough’s lawyer, Tyrone Blackburn, she voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit against Minaj but is going forward with her claim against Petty.
“The case against Nicki was voluntarily dismissed,” said Blackburn. “The case against Kenneth Petty is still ongoing. Stay tuned!”
Judd Bernstein, the attorney for Minaj, reportedly sent an email to Blackburn which noted he was pleased that he and his client came to their senses and referred to them as bottom-feeders. He also vowed to make Blackburn and Hough pay.
“Your conduct in pursuing this case against Nicki represents the worst of our legal system,” wrote Bernstein. “Bottom-feeding lawyers who pursue frivolous actions against a celebrity assuming that they will be paid off if they throw up enough dirt. It is just the beginning of Nicki’s and my efforts to make you pay for your disgraceful conduct with both money and, if the Court recommends it, disciplinary sanctions.”
An emotional Hough appeared on “The Real” one month after the lawsuit was filed last summer and claimed that Petty and Minaj had caused her to relive the trauma of her sexual assault, which happened when she was 16 years old, by harassing and threatening her in an effort to make her recant her accusation against Petty.
Hough also claimed that Minaj called her trying to get her to recant and also had the rapper’s family members harass her.
“He did something a long time ago and he had consequences that he was supposed to stick with. What they did to me and my family wasn’t OK,” she said to the talk show hosts. “It wasn’t right and it doesn’t matter how much money you have. It doesn’t matter what your status is, you can’t intimidate people to make things go better for you. And that’s what they did.”
Hough’s civil complaint against Petty reflected the same sentiments she expressed to “The Real” hosts.
“As a direct result of the actions of Defendant Minaj and Defendant Petty, Plaintiff has been traumatized her entire life,” read the lawsuit. “Plaintiff has never felt safe since being raped by Defendant.”
Petty is next due to appear in court on Jan. 24.
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