Megan Thee Stallion scored a big win in court today. According to NBC, the “Lover Girl” rapper won her lawsuit against Milagro Gramz, born Milagro Cooper, whom Megan accused of being a surrogate for Tory Lanez in harassing her online.
A Florida panel agreed with Megan, born Megan Pete, that Cooper had been behind a campaign to discredit Megan in the wake of Lanez’s 2022 conviction for shooting Pete in the foot in 2000. Lanez, 33, born Daystar Peterson, is now serving ten years for that crime. Before and after his conviction, Pete dealt with online harassment, much of it, she has alleged, generated by Lanez and his followers.
In this case, the panel agreed that Cooper helped Lanez orchestrate the harassment by posting a video of Megan in an alleged sexual situation. Deepfake videos created by AI, where a celebrity’s face is superimposed on other footage have been used to show sexually explicit videos of other celebrities, including Taylor Swift and Marvel star Xochitl Gomez, who was 17 at the time.
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“I feel like … to this day, I feel a little, like, defeated,” Megan testified about the video through tears at the trial. “Because no matter what, no matter if the video was fake or not … [Gramz] wanted it to be real.”
Pete filed her civil lawsuit last year, alleging that Cooper chose to “denigrate, belittle, insult, and spread false statements about Ms. Pete on her online social media platforms, for no other reason than to bully, harass and punish Ms. Pete for Mr. Peterson’s conviction and to tarnish her reputation, causing emotional distress.”
The panel agreed, awarding Pete $75,000 in damages before U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga reduced the amount to $59,000.
“We’re thankful for the jury’s commitment to reinforcing the importance of truth, accountability and responsible commentary on social media,” Megan’s attorney Mari Henderson said in a statement. “Not only is Milagro being held accountable for paying Megan compensatory and punitive damages, but Florida’s fee-shifting legal provision will require her to cover costs of Megan’s legal bills on the deepfake claim. This verdict sends a clear message that spreading dangerous misinformation carries significant consequences.”
Pete has expressed that the constant harassment has impacted her mental health and her finances, as she spent a reported $24,000 for a month in treatment due to the stress. Lanez was just fined $20,000 for failing to cooperate for a deposition in the civil case. Pete was granted a restraining order against him dating to 2030, as she says he continues to harass her even from jail.
Fans are elated with Meg’s legal win. See the reactions below.
