Jennifer Hough, After several months of harassment, threats, and intimidation by Nicki Minaj and Kenneth Petty, Jennifer Hough is now speaking out publicly and taking legal action.
According to the New York State Sexual Offender Registry, Petty was convicted in 1995 of attempted first-degree rape for attacking Hough with a knifepoint while both Hough and he were minors. Hough said that the case became more complicated after Petty was detained in California for not being registered as a sex offenders. Hough claims that the couple have enlisted several people to force Hough to retract her claims about the assault since then.
Hough stated that she felt bullied almost by the entire world. “Only because of a comment that was made just by the chance to be a musician. Do you know? A person who happens to be famous.”
The Daily Beast reported that a male acquaintance of Hough posted on Facebook Stories threatening Hough’s life. Hugh’s male acquaintance, who grew up in the Queens area of Minaj, Petty, and Hough, allegedly spent many months trying to persuade Hough to resign.
According to the lawsuit, Hough claims that Minaj and she spoke on the phone one-on-one. The rapper stated that she had “heard [Hough] was willing help out” in Petty’s legal predicament. Hough claims that Minaj offered to fly her to Los Angeles or to send her publicist so she could meet with Hough at her home and draft a retraction. Hough claims that she declined both of these offers but claimed she said to Minaj unambiguously: “Listen. It’s just that I need you to believe, woman to woman, that this actually happened.”
Hough tried to keep her profile low since the attack. After years of hiding the truth about the assault, Hough was forced to speak out after Petty was exposed as a convicted sex offender. The Daily Beast reports that Minaj claimed her ex-boyfriend was a year younger than she. In late 2018, Petty claimed on Instagram that she was one year older than Hough, and that they were in a relationship. Hough clarified this in a YouTube interview. Minaj continued to discredit Hough. She claimed in 2019, on her Apple Music show Queen Radio, that Petty had been wrongly accused.
Hough is currently suing Minaj and Petty, among other things, for harassment, witness intimidation and intentional infliction emotional distress. According to the suit, Hough was also threatened by a mutual friend who made a $500,000 offer from Minaj’s camp and then offered $20,000 cash for her and her family’s sake.
Tyrone Blackburn, Hough’s lawyer, stated to The Daily Beast that Hough was forced to move three times within seven months due to Minaj’s and Petty’s actions. She also had the fear of being attacked and lost her job. He said that the Pettys (the couple got married in 2019), acted together to end Ms. Hough’s life. They will now be held responsible for their actions.
Hough was not harassed about the situation for the first time. According to The Daily Beast, Hough was pressured by friends of Petty in 1995 after the attack and forced by her adoptive parents to drop the charges. After she failed to convince the judge, she claims she was attacked by her family and forced to flee New York. Hough said that she was beaten by her family when she returned from the hospital after the attack.
Hough was traumatized by the incident and the subsequent havoc it caused in her life. She still blames herself for it and other forms violence she suffered. She told The Daily Beast that she doesn’t wear makeup. “I don’t look at men in their faces if they are walking down the street. It has had a profound impact on my life.”
According to Hough, the lawsuit will help other girls and women who have been in a similar position to speak out.
