Jennifer Hough, the woman that Nicki Minaj's husband was convicted of trying to rape has spoken out on daytime talk show The Real. Hough filed a lawsuit against Nicki and husband Kenneth Petty over alleged harassment and intimidation tactics.
Hough claimed that Minaj and Petty have been harassing her to retract her story and even offered her $20,000 but she refused. Hough claims Petty raped her in 1994 when she was 16 after pushing her into a house and forcing himself on her. Despite other claims, Hough claims she was never in a relationship with Petty.
When asked why she is speaking out now, Hough said that she is tired of “being afraid.”
She explained, “I feel like the actions that were taken in regards to this whole situation put me in a different type of fear at my age now, and it was wrong. And I don’t want to be afraid anymore. The only way not to be afraid is to continue to speak up.”
JENNIFER SPEAKS ON ALLEGED RAPE
Hough recalled the alleged rape saying that Petty, saying that afterwards, he beat his chest in the mirror, saying, , “I’m the man! I’m the man!” She eventually ran out of the house and made her way to school. Her school contacted the police before Petty was arrested and she was taken to the hospital.
She later told the judge in court that she wanted to drop the charges after being pressured by her family. Petty was arrested and charged with first-degree rape, and subsequently pleaded guilty to attempted rape and served over four years in prison.
She said, “I don’t think it was justice per se because I was still blaming myself. I thought it was something that I did or didn’t do. I had to leave my family, I had to leave my home and I had to move away.”
Hough filed a lawsuit against Minaj and Petty in August, accusing them of witness intimidation, emotional distress, harassment, assault, and battery. Petty accepted a plea deal on Aug. 8th for failing to register as a sex offender in California.
Hough has claimed that she spoke to Nicki in March 2020 and the rapper offered to flyer her and her family out to Los Angeles. She turned down the offer and told Nicki about the alleged rape, “This really happened.”
Hough claimed that one of Nicki's associates offered her $20,000 in exhange for her to change her story. She declined and was later told that she “should’ve taken the money because they are going to use that money to put on my head.”
Hough is asking for a trial by jury and is seeking damages as well as statutory damages and attorney’s fees.