Nicki Minaj isn’t the only one upset at Megan Thee Stallion’s “Megan’s Law” line in her new song. Richard Kanka, the father of the slain child behind the federal law, is “fuming” over it.
Richard, the father of 7-year-old Megan Kanka, whose 1994 murder at the hands of a convicted sex offender resulted in the federal law bearing her name, spoke to TMZ about “Hiss” on Monday, January 29. Richard said that the rapper, 28, referencing Megan’s Law to attack Minaj, 41, is “as “disrespectful as it gets” because it’s “dragging his late daughter’s name into the expletive-riddled song.”
Richard acknowledged that Megan Thee Stallion’s line raised awareness about Megan’s Law, but that doesn’t change his feelings because the use of his daughter’s name “in such a graphic/offensive manner was highly offensive to the pain his daughter and family felt.” Richard also noted that he hasn’t heard “Hiss” yet but has read the lyrics.
According to TMZ, Richard is “considering looking into his legal options to see if Meg’s track went too far.”
Megan’s Law is the name for the legislation requiring law enforcement authorities to make information regarding registered sex offenders available to the public. Megan Kanka’s murderer, Jesse K. Timmendequas, had two prior convictions when he moved to Hamilton Township, New Jersey.
Timmendequas was caught, convicted and is serving life in prison with no possibility of parole. New Jersey enacted a state law regarding info about registered sex offenders, and similar language was added to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act of 1994, thus enacting Megan’s Law at a federal level.
Megan’s Law became a hot topic in the hip-hop world after Megan Thee Stallion used the phrase in “Hiss” to make a thinly veiled jab at Minaj’s family: her husband, Kenneth Petty, and brother Jelani Maraj, both of whom are convicted sex offenders.
“These hoes don’t be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan’s Law / I don’t really know what the problem is, but I guarantee y’all don’t want me to start,” rapped Megan Thee Stallion in “Hiss,” which she released on Friday, January 26. Shortly after the track dropped, Minaj appeared on Instagram Live to talk trash about the song. Megan Thee Stallion seemingly responded by posting an Instagram Story that showed her laughing.
Minaj didn’t stop after that. Over the following three days, the “Anaconda” rapper went on one wild X rant after another while teasing her own diss track, “Big Foot,” which she released on Monday. The response mocked Megan’s sex life, her rapping skills and Tory Lanez shooting her in 2020.
Megan Thee Stallion didn’t mention the drama when she appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday, January 30, to announce her upcoming album and subsequent summer tour.
“Oh, we’re having the tour this year,” she said. “The Hot Girl Summer Tour will be 2024 summertime. I’ve felt like I’ve never been able to be outside, doing my own thing, during the summer, like, since 2019. So, this is going to be the first time I dropped an album on time for the summer! [And] I do want to give the hotties the Megan Thee Stallion experience.”
The “Savage” artist didn’t share any more details about her upcoming LP. Her previous studio album was 2022’s Traumazine, her sophomore release after 2020’s Good News.
