Kenneth Petty, the husband of rapper Nicki Minaj, has submitted an alleged 1994 letter as part of his effort to have a civil lawsuit filed by Jennifer Hough dismissed.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Petty’s legal team submitted the document, which they say was written by Hough and sent to the District Attorney during the criminal case against him.
The purported letter asks for the rape charge against Petty to be dropped and describes Hough’s account at the time as “half true and half false.” In the document, the writer also gives an account of her interaction with Petty and says she wanted to leave his home after an argument.
However, Hough’s lawyer, Marjorie Mesidor, has rejected the document’s authenticity, saying her client did not write or sign the letter.
“This is simply not her signature,” Mesidor told TMZ.
She also questioned how a typewritten recantation could have been produced by a 16-year-old minor without parental consent and argued that a similar tactic had previously been used during Petty’s criminal case.
Petty was convicted of first-degree attempted rape in April 1995 in connection with the incident involving Hough. The two were 16 at the time of the alleged incident.
In his latest court filing, Petty is seeking to use the disputed document to challenge Hough’s current claims. He also disputes aspects of her account concerning whether a weapon was involved, arguing that descriptions of the alleged weapon have differed.
Hough filed a civil lawsuit in 2021, accusing Petty of pressuring her for years to publicly withdraw her allegations. Petty denies those claims and is seeking dismissal of the case.
Petty has also alleged that Hough’s decision to pursue the civil case was connected to his relationship with Minaj, whom he described in his filing as a wealthy and famous musician. He claims Hough believed Minaj’s financial position could lead to a settlement.
Hough disputes Petty’s account.
The authenticity and evidentiary value of the alleged 1994 letter remain disputed. Hough’s lawyer says the document was not written or signed by her, while Petty is presenting it to support his request for the civil lawsuit to be dismissed. The court has not made a finding in the current civil proceedings that the disputed letter is authentic.
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