Kenneth Petty's sexual assault accuser is speaking out.
Less than two months after suing Petty, 43, and his wife Nicki Minaj, 38, for allegedly using harassment to persuade her to recant a 1994 sexual-assault accusation against Petty, Jennifer Hough appeared on The Real to detail her allegations.
"I'm tired of being afraid," she shared on the Sept. 22 episode. "I feel like the actions that were taken in regards to this whole situation have put me in a different type of fear, at my age now and it was wrong. And I don't want to be afraid anymore. So, the only way not to be afraid is to continue to speak up."
In 1994 at age 16, Hough reported that Petty, also 16 at the time, had raped her at knifepoint. He was charged with first-degree rape and initially denied the accusation, then pleaded guilty to attempted rape. He served more than four years in prison. Petty is currently a registered sex offender in California.
During the interview, Hough recalled a moment when Minaj reached out to her personally, in March 2020.
"She called me and she said that she got word that I was willing to help them out in a situation," Hough alleged. "I didn't understand what she was referring to. She offered to fly me and my family to LA. I turned it down. And I told her, woman to woman, this really happened. And I hadn't spoken to her since."
When asked about how the rapper and her husband had harassed her, Hough alleged numerous instances in which the couple or "associated" offered her money to recant her original accusation.
"With them sending people to negotiate numbers as far as money is concerned with family members. And Nicki is the one who personally reached out to me, in regards to helping her, helping them in this situation," she said. "And then the threats that I received because I kept saying no to every offer, to every suggestion. The last incident was when one of their associates put $20,000 dollars on my lap. And I still kept saying no. The last message I received was that I should have taken the money because they're going to use that money to put on my head."
E! News has reached out to the couple's representatives for comment and has not heard back. When Hough's lawsuit was filed in Aug. 21, Petty's attorney had no comment.
In her lawsuit, Hough claimed Minaj used her celebrity platform to "bash" her.
According to the lawsuit, Minaj publicly posted on Instagram in 2018 to defend her husband, writing, "Kenny was 15, she was 16 and, in a relationship, but go awf Internet." Hough has maintained that she was not in a relationship with Petty, and both were 16 at the time.
Hough's lawsuit also claims that Petty violated his 1994 plea deal when he allegedly directly and indirectly "threatened" her while telling her "not to speak out" about the rape accusation.
In a statement to E! News, Hough's attorney Tyrone A. Blackburn expressed gratitude to The Real for giving his client the opportunity to speak out.
"The Real has provided Jennifer with a platform to tell her story and to begin her process of healing," Blackburn stated. "We thank the ladies of The Real for the empathy and courtesy they extended to Jennifer."
The Real airs weekdays. Check your local listings online.