After dating for less than a year, Nicki Minaj tied the knot with Kenneth “Zoo” Petty in 2019. Even at the time, this was controversial.
Petty is a convicted sex offender who served time in prison for first-degree attempted rape in 1995. He was released after approximately four years behind bars.
Following the 2019 union, the controversy surrounding Nicki and Petty has only escalated. Now Petty’s victim, Jennifer Hough, is speaking out.
“I’m tired of being afraid”
Appearing on The Real Wednesday (September 22), a noticeably pained and withdrawn Hough told her story. Surrounded by her attorney and the hostesses, Hough recounted how she was “tired of being afraid” and shared her traumas. “I had to leave my family,” she continued, fighting back sobs. “I had to leave my home, and I had to move away.”
When Hough was asked if she had been contacted by Nicki Minaj, she confirmed that. Nicki had indeed spoken to her. According to Hough, she was approached by Nicki in March of 2020:
“She called me and said she got word I was willing to help them out in the situation. I didn’t understand what she was referring to, and she offered to fly me and my family to L.A. I turned it down,” she says. Hough continued, “I told her, woman-to-woman, this really happened, and I haven’t spoken to her since.”
Bribes and threats
Hough claimed that associates and various representatives of Nicki had reached out to her since then. She again alleged that the bribes came from Nicki herself, saying, “…Nicki is the one who personally reached out to me in regard to helping her, helping them in this situation.” It was at this time that the first mention of threats came up in conversation. Hough alleges:
“And then the threats that I received because I kept saying no to every offer, to every suggestion…The last incident was when one of their associates put $20,000 on my lap, and I still kept saying no. The last message I received was that I should have taken the money ’cause they’re going to take that money to put on my head.”
On the subject of the lawsuit itself, Hough made it clear that Nicki and Petty had been “wrong” to treat her as they did. “You can’t do this to people,” she said. “You shouldn’t do this to people…what he did to my family wasn’t okay.”
“…it doesn’t matter how much money you have. It doesn’t matter what your status is. You can’t intimidate people to make people go better for you. And that’s what they did.”
Did Nicki know about Petty’s past?
The short answer: yes. TMZ alleges that the two have known each other since their teenage years. Following Instagram criticism about the couple’s relationship and the attempted rape, Nicki responded:
“He was 15, she was 16 … in a relationship. But go awf Internet. Y’all can’t run my life. Y’all can’t even run y’all own life. Thank you boo.”
In fact, Petty’s rape charge is just part of a slew of crimes.
In 2006, Petty was sent back to prison for first-degree manslaughter in the 2002 shooting of Lamont Robinson. Petty pleaded guilty to the charges, managing to avoid a second-degree murder charge through a plea bargain. He was released in 2013.
In March of 2020, Petty was indicted for failing to register as a sex offender in California. He currently faces jail and has pleaded not guilty. Last June, he formally asked for more time to prepare for trial.
Garrett C. Owen
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