Rapper Nicki Minaj on Wednesday announced she was President Donald Trump's ‘number one’ fan, adding that the hate directed towards the Republican made her support him more. Minaj's remarks, which came during her announcement of support for ‘Trump accounts’, has led to many pointing to her husband's criminal past.
Minaj was called on stage by Trump after she announced her support to his plan for providing trust funds for children.
“I will say that I am probably the president's number one fan, and that's not going to change. And the hate or what people have to say, it does not affect me at all. It actually motivates me to support him more. He has a lot of force behind him, and God is protecting him. Amen,” the 43-year-old said.
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Many, however, criticized Minaj's support for Trump alluding to her husband's criminal past. New York Governor Kathy Hochul's Press Office posted “Knowing Nicki's husband, this collab makes a lot of sense,” responding to a GOP post titled ‘MAGA Minaj’.
{{/usCountry}}Many, however, criticized Minaj's support for Trump alluding to her husband's criminal past. New York Governor Kathy Hochul's Press Office posted “Knowing Nicki's husband, this collab makes a lot of sense,” responding to a GOP post titled ‘MAGA Minaj’.
{{/usCountry}}Kenneth Petty: Nicki Minaj's husband and his criminal past
Kenneth Petty was convicted of attempted rape in the first degree back in April 1995. He had assaulted a then-16-year-old girl, the year before. Petty was given 18 to 54 months in prison. He's listed as a level two registered sex offender in the state of New York.
Petty served four years behind bars for the assault. In 2020, he was arrested again for failing to register as a sex offender when he moved in with Minaj in California. He first pled not guilty and posted $100,000 bail, as per People, but later in September 2021, he pled guilty. At the time, Petty was looking at up to 10 years in jail.
Again in July 2022, Petty was sentenced to a year of house arrest and three years probation, and slapped with a $55,000 fine, as per the outlet.
He has also pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for killing a person. This was in 2002 and the victim was Lamont Robinson. Petty was originally charged with second-degree murder in the 2006 trial but the charge was reduced after a plea bargain.
“The defendant, Kenneth Petty, shot the deceased, Lamont Robinson, with a loaded handgun multiple times thereby causing his death,” The Blast reported citing the complaint. He got 10 years in jail but was out after serving seven. This was in 2013, and Petty was on supervised release for five years, People further reported.
Nicki Minaj has, however, always defended Petty. Slamming those who mentioned his attempted rape charges, Minaj wrote online “He was 15, she was 16 … in a relationship. But go awf Internet. Y'all can't run my life. Y'all can't even run y'all own life. Thank you boo.”