Nicki Minaj's Lawyers Demand $295,605 as She Campaigns for Trump

Nicki Minaj owes her former law firm $295,605, according to a renewed default judgment request filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday — the same day the rapper appeared outside a polling station in Derry, New Hampshire, campaigning for Trump-endorsed Republicans.

The firm, Gordon Recs Scully Mansukhani, filed its request within minutes of her public appearance, Rolling Stone reports. It claims Minaj breached their legal agreement and has not paid for services, fees and interest tied to a copyright infringement lawsuit over her song "I Lied." That case, brought by Julius Johnson, alleged the track directly copied the instrumentation and beat of his copyrighted song "onmysleeve." It ended in a private settlement and was dismissed.

The firm's underlying lawsuit, filed in March, "has not been responded to in any way by [the rapper]," according to the filing. More than 30 days have passed since Minaj was served, which clears the path for the firm to again seek the $295,605 as a default award. A hearing on the request is set for Nov. 16. Representatives for Minaj did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Rolling Stone.

What was Minaj doing as the filing landed?

According to NBC10Boston, she appeared outside a Derry polling station accompanied by police and posed for a photo in front of a campaign sign for Anthony DiLorenzo, the Trump-endorsed Republican businessman who lost his congressional bid to Democrat Stefany Shaheen.

The stop followed her appearance with Trump at a Michigan rally last week, where she led the crowd in a chant of "We love Trump." It was the latest display of an alliance Rolling Stone characterizes as improbable, given that Minaj once vowed never to endorse him.

"We don't want our children to be bombarded with sex changes, right?" she told the crowd, before offering to support Trump if he sought a third term. Trump, for his part, drew attention to her appearance in characteristic fashion: "By the way, I looked at one hell of a beautiful ass before: Nicki Minaj! That's hard to miss," he said.

Minaj traveled to the Michigan rally aboard Air Force One, where she staged a mock interview playing White House press secretary. She praised Trump as a businessman and a "great guy" who had "won three elections" — a count that overstates reality; he has won two.

Tuesday's midterm elections dealt a blow to Trump and his supporters, including Minaj: Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate.

Is this her first debt dispute?

No. In January, Minaj narrowly avoided the court-ordered sale of her $20 million Los Angeles mansion when she paid a $500,000 default judgment awarded to a security guard. The guard had accused her husband, Kenneth Petty, of assaulting him backstage at a 2019 concert in Germany.

What does the new filing change for Minaj? Potentially a second default judgment in a single year. If the Nov. 16 hearing goes unanswered, a court could award the $295,605 without her participation — which, so far, she has offered none.