Nicki Minaj and her husband are being sued for alleged harassment by a woman who accused him of raping her 27 years ago.
The woman, 43, claims she has suffered an “onslaught of harassing calls and unsolicited visits” from Minaj, her husband Kenneth Petty and their associates.
She says they offered her $500,000 (£360,000) in a bid to get her to revoke her story that Petty attacked her as a 16-year-old in Queens, New York in 1994.
Petty, who shares an 11-month-old son with Minaj, pleaded guilty to attempted rape at the time and served four-and-a-half years in prison.
Minaj in New York in 2016. Pic: AP/Star Max
The new lawsuit, filed to the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, claims that after Petty, 43, was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender in California last year, the accuser started to receive messages from the couple.
It says that rap superstar Minaj tried to fly her to Los Angeles so she could “help” her with the legal action.
The accuser then claims Minaj tried to get her to accept a statement drafted by her publicist, which recanted any claims of sexual assault in 1994.
During one of the conversations, the accuser told the rapper: “I need you to know woman to woman that this happened,” the lawsuit states.
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After that, the woman claims she was subject to an “onslaught”, with two people contacting a member of her family to say Minaj would offer her half a million dollars to revoke her claims.
On one occasion, Minaj is alleged to have offered to send the woman’s 16-year-old daughter a bespoke ‘happy birthday’ message.
The star is also said to have offered her $20,000 (£14,000) in cash.
According to the lawsuit the woman has been left “distraught” and unable to work since May 2020 due to “severe depression, paranoia, constant moving, harassment and threats”.
She is now living in isolation in Florida in fear of retaliation.
Minaj and Petty have not yet responded to the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages.