EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Nicki Minaj arrived at MetLife Stadium on Saturday for Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Morocco in the FIFA World Cup group stage, posting a video to X that showed her five-year-old son Papa Bear by her side and husband Kenneth Petty a few feet away in their VIP suite — deflating months of unconfirmed separation rumors with a single clip that required no statement at all. The video, reported by TMZ, drew 1.2 million views within hours of posting.
Minaj captioned the post simply “#FifaWorldCup” without addressing the speculation. Petty, standing on a small stairway within the suite, was visible at the edge of the frame. The footage made the point without a statement: both of them were there, in the same section, watching the same match. AOL reported that fans noted Papa Bear’s close resemblance to his father in the video.
Speculation about a possible separation had circulated since early 2026, fed by shifts in their joint social media presence and a registry update that some celebrity observers interpreted as a sign of dissolution. Neither Minaj nor Petty confirmed or denied any of it. The couple married in October 2019 and have one child together.
Brazil and Morocco played out a tightly contested Group C opener at MetLife, drawing an official attendance of 80,663. Ismael Saibari opened the scoring with a first-half chip before Vinícius Júnior equalized — a 1-1 result that left both camps satisfied enough to claim a competitive start. CBS New York covered the match from inside the stadium.
Papa Bear, born September 30, 2020, wore a yellow shirt and navy cap in the footage. He stood near a railing in the suite, watching the action below. Minaj kept the phone on him for much of the clip before the angle shifted to reveal Petty in the background.
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford is one of 16 host venues across the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the tournament’s first to span three countries. The event has drawn a steady stream of American celebrities to host cities. Katy Perry performed at the Los Angeles opening ceremony alongside Justin Trudeau’s red-carpet debut with her, and David Beckham received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star the same week the competition launched in California.
Minaj has been publicly aligned with the Trump administration this year, attending events at Mar-a-Lago including a cryptocurrency gathering where she compared the president’s public image to Marilyn Monroe. She remains one of a small number of prominent hip-hop figures to have maintained that association as the Trump political operation continues to drive Republican primaries through the midterm cycle.
Kenneth Petty, whom Minaj married in October 2019, has carried significant legal weight throughout their public life together. He pleaded guilty in 2021 to failing to register as a sex offender stemming from a 1994 statutory rape conviction in New York. A 2023 civil suit brought by Jennifer Hough — the victim in that case, who alleged that Minaj orchestrated a harassment campaign against her — resulted in a $500,000 settlement. Saturday’s World Cup appearance offered no comment on any of that history. It confirmed, with a 1.2 million-view clip, that the couple remains publicly together.
