Nicki Minaj Dodges $10M Default Judgment After Lawyer Abandons Ship

Rapper Nicki Minaj narrowly averted a $10 million default judgment in a federal defamation lawsuit after her lawyers withdrew and a judge gave her more time to find new representation. The award of extra time provides temporary relief for Minaj and her company, Pink Personality, from the threat of judgment without trial.

According to a report from AllHipHop, the lawsuit was filed by Tameer Peak back in September, who claimed Minaj, Pink Personality, and Pedro Velazquez had "a campaign of malicious false statements and harassment directed at Plaintiff."

Minaj was served on September 30 and had until October 21 to respond, but no filings were made. "On October 24, the court clerk entered a default against Minaj, setting the stage for a possible judgment without tria," the report stated.

The situation escalated when Minaj's former lawyers abruptly resigned. Her in-house lawyer said the old lawyer "abruptly withdrew entirely from his representation of Defendants, without giving any prior notice." The new lawyer said he wasn't even aware of the lawsuit until October 30, the day the prior lawyer left.

Peak objected to the motion for an extension, saying Minaj had enough time to answer and that one of her former lawyers, Judd Burstein, sent an email threatening "adverse consequences" if the plaintiff did not dismiss the action. Broderick found Peak failed to explain "what the supposed threats entailed" and concluded the situation "does not amount to willful default."

The judge noted Minaj had moved promptly after the default was entered and concluded she had demonstrated "good cause" for missing the original deadline, despite not having yet filed a complete defense to the defamation claims.

According to AllHipHop, Minaj will have up to December 28 to hire new lawyers and file the paperwork with the court, and her team must give the court an update on the progress by December 13. The artist might also lose $20 million for a separate case that it is alleged she ignored.

In other news, rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine sparked controversy after claiming during a livestream with Adin Ross and N3on that he "could have" slept with Nicki Minaj, though he admitted they never did, a statement that has drawn massive backlash online.

TMZ reported that tensions between the two artists date back to 2022, when 6ix9ine publicly criticized Minaj for allegedly threatening to delay her album if fans didn't support her collaboration with Fivio Foreign on We Go Up.

The rapper's recent revelation comes amid other personal struggles, including a home invasion while he was away for a livestream, highlighting ongoing challenges during his house arrest and fueling widespread discussion among fans and critics.