EXCLUSIVE: Nicki Minaj’s Husband Kenneth Petty Produces Accuser’s 1994 Letter In Bid To Have $20M Civil Suit Dismissed

Kenneth Petty is asking a federal judge to throw out Jennifer Hough’s civil claims by using a letter she wrote while his original criminal case was pending.

In a September 10 filing, Petty’s lawyer says Hough’s 1994 notarized letter contradicts her current lawsuit and defeats her rape and emotional-distress claims. The request seeks dismissal of Hough’s civil case, not the criminal charges that ended with Petty’s 1995 conviction.

AllHipHop has obtained a copy of Hough’s original letter, which Petty’s lawyers attached to their new filing as a central exhibit. The document asks authorities to drop the charges and includes Hough’s statement, “On the day that I said I was rape [sic] it is half true and half false.”

The letter also describes an argument and Hough’s claim that Petty would not allow her to leave immediately. Hough wrote that Petty would not let her leave after an argument and demanded sex before he would permit her to go home.

“He asked to make love with me again. I said no. so we started arguing again. Than he told me if I would have sex with him, I can leave. So I did, because I was already late for school, and I just wanted to leave.”

Hough further wrote, “Kenneth, have always been a friend to me in the past. He have never disrespected me in any way.” She also said Petty “may be guilty” of telling her she could not leave until they had sex, but added, “he’s not a rapist.”

Hough has claimed she does not know who wrote or submitted the letter, but Kenneth Petty has submitted the document as proof that Hough has exaggerated the claims against him.

Petty’s attorney now argues those passages destroy Hough’s present account that Petty sexually assaulted her at knifepoint after approaching her at a bus stop. The filing says Petty denies threatening Hough or sending anyone to pressure her, and maintains their sexual contact was consensual.

According to AllHipHop’s reporting on the original case, Hough said she reported the 1994 assault at John Adams High School after escaping Petty’s home. Petty later pleaded guilty to attempted rape, assault, unlawful imprisonment and weapon possession, serving four years in prison.

The conflict resurfaced after Petty became publicly involved with Nicki Minaj and later faced a federal case over failing to register as a sex offender in California. Hough alleged that the couple and their associates pursued her in 2020 because Petty wanted his registry status removed.

Hough said a childhood acquaintance known as “Black” contacted her after Petty’s California arrest and offered to connect her with Minaj and Petty. She alleged Black later presented $20,000 in cash and notarized papers seeking a statement that she had lied about the assault.

Hough also alleged Minaj called her directly in March 2020 after learning Hough might help with Petty’s registration case. During The Real, Hough recalled, “She said that she got word that I was willing to help them out in a situation. I didn’t understand what she was referring to.”

“I told her, ‘Woman to woman, this really happened,’” Hough continued. “And I haven’t spoken to her since.”

Hough alleged that relatives were later offered $500,000 for a recantation and that private investigators, lawyers and other intermediaries contacted her family. AllHipHop reported that Black allegedly posted an Instagram message in 2021 referencing the $20,000 offer alongside images of guns.

Hough said the pressure forced her to leave New York, move to Georgia and eventually relocate again to Florida after an alleged encounter involving her daughter. She sued Petty and Minaj in August 2021, accusing them of intimidation, harassment and emotional harm tied to efforts to make her recant.

Minaj was later voluntarily dismissed from the suit, leaving Petty as the remaining defendant. Petty’s newest filing argues that Hough lacks direct proof connecting him to later threats and that several claims arrived after the legal deadline.

His attorney has also asked Judge Eric N. Vitaliano to delay an October 12 pretrial filing while the court considers Petty’s proposed dismissal motion.