Nicki Minaj is coming to the defense of her new boyfriend, Kenneth Petty, who was reportedly convicted of manslaughter and attempted sexual assault and is a registered sex offender in the state of New York.
After subtly announcing the new relationship on Instagram Sunday, the “Bang Bang” rapper took to the social media platform yet again just hours later to defend her relationship with Petty, sharing a series of photos of herself with her new boyfriend.
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“Oh they wanna talk?” she captioned the photos, posted on Monday, Dec. 10. “Let’s give’m smthn to talk about. Shania voice.”
Minaj went on to respond to a commenter who defended Petty, the fan pointing out that Petty’s conviction of attempted rape in the first degree was due to an incident that occurred with a 16-year-old girl in September 1994.
“He was 15, she was 16…in a relationship,” she wrote. “But go awf, Internet. Y’all can’t run my life. Y’all can’t even run y’all own life. Thank you boo.”
The rapper also showed her support for Petty on Twitter, liking several tweets defending him, including one that read, “keep making them mad sis. I’m LIVING right now.”
The “Barbie Dreams” rapper’s social media clapback was a result of fierce backlash after she seemingly made her new romance Instagram official just one day prior. On Sunday night, Minaj posted a photo of herself with her leg wrapped around Petty.
Minaj eventually disabled comments on the post after Petty’s criminal background was picked up by several outlets.
First reported by The Blast, Petty’s sexual assault conviction wasn’t the only item on his rap sheet, which also included a 2002 charge of second-degree murder after he reportedly shot a man named Lamont Robinson “with a loaded handgin [sic] multiple times thereby causing his death.” Petty eventually got the charge reduced due to a plea deal and pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was released early in May of 2013.
This is not the first time that Minaj has been linked to a sex offender. She recently worked with fellow rapper Tekashi6ix9ine on her single “FEFE.” Tekashi6ix9ine had pleaded guilty to the use of a child in a sexual performance on Oct. 20, 2015, resulting in the two rappers being barred from performing the single at the MTV VMA’s. Minaj responded to the controversy by writing on Instagram, “I love you and am praying for you.”
