Megan Thee Stallion won her defamation lawsuit on Monday against vlogger Milagro “Gramz” Cooper, who falsely claimed the rapper was lying about being shot by rapper Tory Lanez.
A federal jury in Miami found Cooper liable for defaming the “Body” rapper, intentionally inflicting emotional distress by coordinating with Lanez, and circulating a sexually explicit deepfake video of Megan online.
The jury awarded the rapper, born Megan Pete, $75,000 in damages. But U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga lowered the amount to $59,000, Local 10 News Miami reported. Cooper may also be forced to pay Pete’s legal fees, according to People magazine.
Outside court, Pete told reporters: “I’m just happy.”
Meantime, Cooper said she was relieved.
“It wasn’t a multi-million dollar verdict, so I think that’s a blessing,” the influencer told reporters.
Her attorney, Jeremy McLymont, insisted neither side can claim victory.
“We respect the jury’s verdict. You always have to, right? Whether we agree with it or not, we respect it,” McLymont said. “At the end of the day it was not a complete win for any side.”
Pete sued Cooper in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in October 2024. The complaint accused the YouTuber of being a “paid surrogate” for Lanez, born Daystar Peterson.
“For years, Defendant Cooper acted, and continues to act, on behalf of Daystar Peterson (also known as Tory Lanez) as an online rumor mill churning out falsehoods about Ms. Pete to her tens of thousands of social media followers,” the lawsuit said. “The lengths to which Defendant Cooper goes to harass Ms. Pete knows no bounds. For example, she has gone so far as to share a deepfake pornographic video of Ms. Pete.”
Lanez, born Daystar Peter, was convicted by a Los Angeles jury in December 2022 on three felony counts — assault with a semiautomatic firearm; discharging a firearm with gross negligence; and carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle after a party on July 12, 2020.
A Los Angeles County judge sentenced him to 10 years in state prison in August 2023.
“Actions have consequences,” the judge told the Canadian rapper, who faces deportation after he completes his sentence.
Peterson has appealed the verdict. But last month, a three-judge panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected claims made by the “It Doesn’t Matter” rapper that he did not get a fair trial because of “errors” made by prosecutors.
The appeals panel said prosecutors proved their case, with witness testimony confirming Megan was shot.
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