‘Deb’s House’ Star Deb Antney Says Any Nicki Minaj “Gossip” Is “Off the Table” for Her (EXCLUSIVE)

Music manager Deb Antney knows a thing or two about finding a star. As one of hip-hop's most sought-after executives, the CEO has used her eye for talent to develop the careers of the genre's current icons, including her son, Waka Flocka Flame, Kash Doll, and Gucci Mane.

Now, Deb's bringing R&B back to its former glory in Season 2 of WeTV and AllBLK's Deb's House, airing on Friday, Aug. 22.

Another one of Deb's clients was a young Onika Tanya Maraj, known professionally as Nicki Minaj, whom she managed during her early rise to fame. Had the reality star not made Nicki move to Atlanta in the early 2000s, we might have missed her decades-long reign in the music industry.

Nicki has given Deb her credit for helping her early on, and Deb has often referred to her as one of her own. So much so that she recently told Distractify why she's not getting involved in any of the rapper's controversies.

Deb may not have a filter on Deb's House, but few should expect her to discuss any opinion on her longtime friend, Nicki.

She told us that, while she and the Barbz's leader will always be connected due to their history, she'd rather keep the details of their relationship — and any opinions of her recent feuds with SZA, Jay-Z, or Roc Nation — close to the chest and made it clear her loyalty lies with Nicki.

"Any questions about her are off the table for me, because that's personal for me. I don't judge anybody's stuff or what they do for whoever you are. That's your story," Deb exclusively shared with Distractify. "The one thing that I don't do is that I don't get into an artist's gossip. And she's definitely off the table for anybody discussing her with me. I'm not going to do that, and I don't want her on the table."

The Growing Up Hip-Hop: Atlanta EP's stance on not discussing the "Barbie World" rapper's personal life follows a sordid history of them not always being on the same page.

Although they've been friends for years, in July 2024, Nicki scolded Deb via X (formerly Twitter) after the manager revealed on Opinionated Truths Podcast that she secretly reached out to the rapper's sworn enemy, Lil Kim, to convince her and Nicki to make amends.

"Deb, isn’t it funny how you left out the biggest part of the story?” the Pinkprint artist wrote, per Vibe. “I didn’t ask you to do a THING! You told me AFTER THE FACT & I SCREAMED ON YOU & told you if you reach out to ppl now that you’re being seen around me, they will THINK it’s coming FROM ME so to NEVER do that again w/o discussing it with me FIRST.”

Though she was initially angry about Deb's interview, they've since gotten on a "good foot." In June 2025, Nicki seemingly praised her mentor by reminding her fans of a clip of her loyalty to their relationship. She discussed how Deb shared in an interview with Ray Daniels Presents how she was offered $5 million to leave Nicki during one of her tours, but she declined, even though she "needed that money at the time," telling the hosts, "That’s my child, no matter what."

“I wonder who offered Deb 5MM to leave the tour," Nicki wondered on X.

While she's developing emerging artists on her show, Deb's House, she's not looking to recreate the magic she created with Nicki, or any of her other artists, for that matter. Still, she told us she can't escape the artists' desire for her to make them the "next" hip-hop queen.

"I touched Nicki, and Nicki succeeded the way she succeeded, [so] everybody's supposed to do that," Deb said of the mindset of artists she's met. "But no, she wanted it the most, and she let me know that."

Deb added that she's experienced artists becoming upset with her because they didn't get the "quick fix" they hoped for after gaining her attention. She said the only way to keep themselves on her roster is to let themselves and their goals shine through.

"What I do with you, I'm not going to do it to the next person," Deb explained. "There are no two people alike. To me, my dealings with each person is different. There are some basic things there. But for the most part, the development part comes just for you, that the blueprint that's written for that is only for you. It's not for the world."

Catch new episodes of Deb's House on Fridays at 9:30 EST on WeTV. Fans can also stream the series on AllBLK.