Kenneth Petty, the husband of rapper Nicki Minaj, has submitted what he claims is a 1994 letter written by Jennifer Hough as part of his defence against her civil lawsuit, but Hough’s lawyer denies that she wrote or signed the document.
According to new court documents obtained by TMZ, Petty submitted the alleged letter, which was purportedly sent to the District Attorney in 1994 and sought to have a r@pe charge against him dropped. The document describes Hough’s allegations at the time as “half false,” although her attorney, Marjorie Mesidor, disputes the authenticity of the letter.
In the purported letter, Hough is quoted as writing: “On the day that I said I was r@pe it is half true and half false. The marks on my neck was not from me being choke. They were hickies that I got the day before from someone else. I been knowing Kenneth for many years.”
The letter also describes Hough and Petty getting into an argument after spending time together. “He asked to make love with me again. I said no, so we started arguing again. Then he told me if I would have s3x with him, I can leave. So I did, because I was already late for school, and I just wanted to leave,” the document states.
According to the purported letter, Hough left Petty’s home angry and later told a friend about what had happened. The document claims the friend encouraged her to report Petty for r@pe because she had not wanted to have s3x with him a second time.
“Everybody in school took it out of proportion, saying this and saying that. Next thing I knew cops was there. … I am really sorry about everything I hope Kenneth and his family will forgive me for all the trouble I caused him and his family. Maybe we could put this all behind us and continue the friendship we once had,” the purported letter states. Petty also claims Hough previously told a friend that another person was in the room during the alleged assault before later changing her account.
Mesidor rejected Petty’s reliance on the document and said her client had not recanted her allegations. “This exact tactic was attempted by Mr. Petty in 1994, and it was widely disregarded by the judge then just as it will be disregarded by the judge now,” Mesidor told TMZ.
“The concept of a 16-year-old minor producing a typewritten recantation without parental consent is highly suspicious on its face, and this is simply not her signature.” Petty was convicted of first-degree attempted r@pe in April 1995 in connection with the incident involving Hough, who accused him of assaulting her when they were both 16.
In his latest filing, Petty also disputes aspects of Hough’s account concerning whether a weapon was involved, arguing that “sometimes it is alleged to be a gun, at other times a knife.” Hough filed a civil lawsuit against Petty in 2021, alleging that he had pressured her for years to publicly recant her r@pe allegation.
Petty disputes those claims and is seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed. He further alleges in his latest filing that Hough brought the civil action after he became involved with Minaj, whom he described as a “famous and wealthy musician.”
Petty claims Hough viewed Minaj as a “celebrity with deep pockets” and believed the case would be settled to make it disappear. Hough disputes Petty’s account, and her lawyer maintains that the purported 1994 letter was not written or signed by her. The court has yet to determine the current civil dispute.