Megan Thee Stallion Could Face Legal Trouble

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion's new song "Hiss" has been a hit since it was released on January 26—but now one man has said he's considering suing her over it.

Fellow rapper Nicki Minaj slammed Stallion after fans speculated the track took aim at Minaj's husband, registered sex offender Kenneth Petty, as it references Megan's Law. This is a federal law requiring law-enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders.

Petty was convicted of the attempted rape of a then 16-year-old girl in 1994, serving over four years in prison. He is listed as a level two registered sex offender in New York State. After failing to register in California as a sex offender, Petty was sentenced to a year under home confinement, along with three years' probation and a $55,000 fine in July 2022.

The song could also be directed at Minaj's brother, Jelani Maraj, who was found guilty of predatory sexual assault in 2017 after raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter. In January 2020 he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after a 2018 appeal failed.

Minaj isn't the only person who has taken issue with the song. Richard Kanka, the father of Megan Kanka whose case inspired Megan's Law, finds Stallion's use of it in her track "disrespectful and offensive" and is considering looking into his legal options, he told TMZ.

In 1994, the seven-year-old was lured into the house of her neighbor Jesse Timmendequas, who raped and murdered her. He had previously been convicted of child molestation. At the time, he wasn't legally required to identify himself in his neighborhood.

According to the publication, Richard Kanka disapproves of the fact that his daughter's name has been used in such a "graphic" manner, which he said is highly offensive.

Newsweek contacted Stallion's representative for comment via email Thursday.

While his feelings are valid, Sarah Klein, an attorney at California-based firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, told Newsweek that if Richard Kanka filed a lawsuit, there's a chance it wouldn't be successful.

"Filing a lawsuit against Megan Thee Stallion would not likely survive a motion to dismiss," she said. A motion to dismiss is filed when a party believes that the complaint is legally invalid.

Klein continued: "However, the reference to a raped and murdered child is egregiously tasteless. I feel for this family who has been through far too much already. Megan's Law has saved countless lives and that is the only way it should be referenced."

People also took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on the fact that Richard Kanka is said to be considering legal options. Many said he didn't have a case.

"he's entitled to his feelings but there's literally no case here and the law wasn't mentioned disrespectfully," one person wrote.

"Any lawyer will tell you his suit would have no basis. You can't sue someone for citing a law just because it's named after your daughter. That's like suing someone for referencing an Amber Alert," said another.

"No legal options exist and if I was the attorney I'd argue that the way she used it actually brought attention to the law AND its importance and purpose. So he should reconsider," a third person wrote.

A fourth said: "He's obviously entitled to feel how he wants to feel but he has no legal standing—and why is he more upset with the person who mentioned it than the person who broke Megan's Law? And TMZ are vultures because why are y'all even reaching out to him??? This whole thing is MESS."

However, others could see where he was coming from and agreed with him trying to sue Stallion.

"She deserves it a child lost her life and was brutally r*ped and murdered . Just for Megan to use it for her beneficial gain IN A STUPID RAP BEEF is DISGUSTING!" a different X user posted.

"hotties dragging this man because he spoke up about how HE felt towards a line with HIS daughters name in it... if he felt it's disrespectful than it's disrespectful, what happened to yall moral code ??" someone else asked.

A third wrote: "quotes attacking the father... but i thought we cared about victims."

Stallion's song resulted in Minaj retaliating with a track of her own. Minaj previewed her new song "Big Foot" on Instagram, just hours after Megan's hit aired, with the song officially landing on January 29. In it, she hit back at Stallion with lyrics allegedly mocking her height.

Fans also believe it jabs at her ex following allegations of Tory Lanez shooting Stallion in her feet after an argument in July 2020. Song lyrics in "Big Foot" include: "Bad b**** she like 6 foot/ I call her big foot/ the b**** fell off/I said get up on your good foot."

While Minaj denied it was a "diss track" on X, she said she had another five songs ready to release if Stallion denied "Hiss" referenced her.

"Big Foot" became the biggest female rap debut in Apple Music history and the biggest solo female rap debut on YouTube and Spotify in 2024, according to Minaj.

As for "Hiss", it reached No. 1 on both the U.S. and Global Apple Music charts, and has made Megan the first female rapper to have more than one song top the global chart after her song "Body" also reached No. 1.