Skip to main content

Now that the midterm elections are over, Nicki Minaj can get back to the other pressing issues on her plate. While the rapper spent Election Day posing for photos in New Hampshire, her former lawyers were busy in Los Angeles, asking a judge to force her to pay what they say is an overdue bill. The law firm Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani filed a renewed request for a default judgment against Minaj on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to Rolling Stone. The firm says the rapper and her company, Harajuku Barbie Music LLC, owe $295,605 in unpaid legal bills, late fees, interest, and court costs.

Minaj’s legal fee drama might be news to some fans, but the bill dates back to 2024. Minaj hired the firm to defend her in a copyright lawsuit over her 2014 song “I Lied.” Songwriter Julius Johnson had sued Minaj, claiming the track copied the instrumentation and beat of his song “onmysleeve.” Gordon Rees represented Minaj in that case, which ended in a private settlement and was dismissed.

According to legal paperwork obtained by TheWrap, Minaj signed a legal services agreement with the firm in October 2024. The firm says it billed Minaj and her company $229,541.75 for its work and that the bill was never paid. According to the firm, the balance has since grown by $25,249.51 in contractual late fees, plus attorney’s fees and costs tied to collecting the debt.

She’s had a default judgment before

The firm says Minaj has ignored its lawsuit entirely. In its filing, Gordon Rees said the complaint “has not been responded to in any way by” the rapper. Because more than 30 days have passed since she was served, the firm is asking the court to enter a default judgment, which would allow the court to rule against Minaj without her ever presenting a defense.

A hearing on the request is set for Nov. 16. Minaj’s representatives did not respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment, and it’s unclear whether the rapper will respond before the hearing.

If she doesn’t, it wouldn’t be her first default judgment. In January, Minaj paid a $500,000 default judgment awarded to a security guard who accused her husband, Kenneth Petty, of assaulting him backstage at a 2019 concert in Germany. The payment narrowly headed off a court-ordered sale of her $20 million Los Angeles mansion.

Best in News