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Nicki Minaj's husband has criminal past: What to know about Kenneth Petty amid Trump meeting

Nicki Minaj, the rapper, announced she was President Donald Trump's ‘number one fan' leading to many pointing to her husband's criminal past.  

Published on: Jan 30, 2026, 03:04:06 IST
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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.

Nicki Minaj has defended husband Kenneth Petty online. (X/@AkademiksTV)
Nicki Minaj has defended husband Kenneth Petty online. (X/@AkademiksTV)

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.

Also Read | Nicki Minaj doubles down on homophobic slur against Don Lemon amid backlash: ‘They’re about to get angrier’

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’.

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.”

  • Shuvrajit Das Biswas
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shuvrajit Das Biswas

    Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More

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