On Monday, Nicki Minaj announced that she's pregnant with her first child, and naturally, the rapper's millions of devoted fans were quick to offer their congratulations.
But for some, the news was not entirely joyous -- and it was for the same reason that news of Minaj's recent marriage was met with consternation:
Both developments involved Kenneth Petty, a man whose checkered past has raised concerns about the impact he might have on Nicki's future.
Fears about Petty have been circulating online from the moment that Minaj went public with news of their relationship.
And this isn't a situation in which the fans are upset about an off-color joke, or a tweet that didn't age well.
In 1995, Petty was convicted of first-degree attempted rape.
In 2006, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges.
He is now registered as a sex offender in both California and New York.
When Minaj announced her pregnancy on Monday, the post quickly racked up more than 10 million likes.
But she turned off comments on the first photos of her baby bump, likely out of fear of how the public would respond to her decision to get pregnant by a registered sex offender.
“Love. Marriage. Baby carriage,” Nicki wrote on Instagram on Monday.
“Overflowing with excitement & gratitude. Thank you all for the well wishes.”
Insiders say she's always wanted to be a mom, and she feels Petty will be a perfect dad.
"She has wanted to become a mother for a long, long time, and now her dream is finally coming true," one source told Us Weekly.
“She feels so blessed to be pregnant and can’t wait to meet her mini-me.”
Nicki and Kenneth got married in 2019 after just a few months of dating.
The relationship immediately raised eyebrows, not only because of Petty's crimes, but also because of the couple's history.
Minaj is 37, and Petty is 42.
They met for the first time while she was still in high school, and while the exact dates of their initial courtship are unclear, if they were, say, 16 and 21 respectively, then the relationship would have been highly inappropriate.
And when you consider the fact that Petty would have already served time for rape at that point, the situation becomes even more nauseating.
“He was on my body b4 the big ol’ ghetto booty. B4 the fame & fortune. … But anyway, timing is everything," Nicki tweeted last year by way of announcing her reconciliation with Petty.
Despite the many, many legitimate causes for concern, insiders say Nicki has never been happier.
She corroborated that statement in an interview on Lil Wayne's Young Money Radio in June.
“I can’t complain. I really cannot freaking complain,” she said.
“I didn’t think it would be as refreshing and calming as it is," Minaj added.
"Even if you’re not married, when you have someone that feels like your soulmate or someone who understands you, it just makes you feel like you’re on top of the world.”
Nicki went on to say that Kenneth lifts her spirits like no one else.
“Whenever I’m down, I can have one conversation with my husband and it will get me back where I need to be mentally,” she told Wayne.
“He’s been a really great force in my life. … I feel a level of comfort with him that I hadn’t felt before to just be myself and to share who I am.”
Despite Nicki's ringing endorsement, fans remain concerned that the rapper is being manipulated by a skilled predator.
Many of Nicki's biggest supporters feel conflicted about this week's developments, but it's important t bear in mind that you can be happy for Nicki, and still remain deeply suspicious of her baby daddy.