A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ordered rapper Nicki Minaj and her husband Kenneth Petty to pay $500,000 to a security guard who filed an injury lawsuit against the couple. According to XXL, Judge Lynne M. Hobbs on Friday passed a default judgment in favor of the plaintiff after the couple failed to respond to the lawsuit.
The plaintiff, identified as Thomas Weidenmuller, accused Minaj and her husband of physically assaulting him during her 2019 concert in Germany. Weidenmuller in the 2022 lawsuit said the alleged violent assault happened while he was working as a security guard at the Pink Friday rapper’s concert. The lawsuit stated that it was on March 22, 2019.
The lawsuit stated that during the event, a fan without any authorization went to the stage area. And though security personnel quickly led the fan out of the area, Minaj got angered by the breach and began screaming at a female also working as a security guard at the concert, per the lawsuit.
Weidenmuller is said to have ultimately stepped in to try and calm tempers, but Minaj got infuriated. The 41-year-old rapper and Weidenmuller then got into a heated argument before she allegedly threw a shoe at the plaintiff, XXL reported.
The lawsuit also stated that the rapper, born Onika Tanya Maraj, later informed her husband about what happened between her and Weidenmuller. The plaintiff said Minaj later made him come to a private room where Petty and her two bodyguards were also present. The lawsuit claimed Petty then physically assaulted Weidenmuller, adding that neither Minaj nor her bodyguards intervened as they watched on.
Weidenmuller said he suffered severe injuries from the assault. Besides undergoing eight surgeries to fix a broken jaw, the plaintiff said he also suffered head, neck, and facial pains.
Weidenmuller was seeking a $724,000 settlement to cover his medical bills and for the emotional distress he suffered from the alleged violent assault.