Megan Thee Stallion has been successful in the first round of her legal battle against YouTuber and Tory Lanez supporter Milagro Gramz.
In October, the rapper filed a lawsuit against Gramz – real name Milagro Elizabeth Cooper – alleging that she had shared deepfake porn of Megan and spread lies about her case with Lanez. The suit also accused Gramz of “cyberstalking, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy”.
Now, a judge in Florida has ruled that Megan can continue to pursue her suit against Gramz after making a “compelling case” that the blogger acted with a “reckless disregard for the truth” in posts about the rapper.
In court documents obtained by Rolling Stone, Chief Judge Cecilia Altonaga also said that Gramz’ posts “depict a campaign, not journalism”.
“Defendant downplays these allegations [of defamation and acting out of ‘pure hatred,’] arguing that ‘spite’ and a failure to investigate do not establish actual malice,” the judge wrote. “But Plaintiff’s claims extend far beyond mere negligence – they paint a picture of an intentional campaign to destroy her reputation. That is more than enough to satisfy the pleading standard.”
In response to the ruling, Gramz’ attorney Michael Pancier has said: “This decision does not reflect a determination on the merits of the case. The plaintiff must now substantiate her claims with credible and admissible evidence.”
In December, Megan’s attorneys updated their suit after saying they had obtained Lanez’s prison calls via subpoena, which they claim prove the rapper was still orchestrating a harassment campaign with Gramz against Megan from behind bars.
Lanez was sentenced to 10 years in prison last August for an incident that happened in July 2020, when Megan was shot in her feet while leaving a party at Kylie Jenner’s house.
He was found guilty of all three charges pegged against him: one count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm; one count of carrying a concealed, loaded, and unregistered firearm in a vehicle; and one charge of discharging a firearm with gross negligence. The rapper-singer has maintained his innocence from behind bars and was granted a chance to appeal the judgement this July.
Since then, Megan has successfully obtained a five-year restraining order against Lanez after telling a court that she feared she may be shot again if Lanez were to be released from prison.
Megan opened up about the incident in her documentary Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words, released back in October via Amazon Prime Video. She also issued a “final” response to the incident in which she reflected on the “humiliation” she faced from the public when coming forward with the claims.
