A judge has ruled that gossip blogger Milagro Gramz is not entitled to special defamation protections reserved for journalists because Tory Lanez paid her to post negative content about Megan Thee Stallion.
The finding comes in a Florida federal judge’s Friday (May 29) decision, obtained by Billboard, that reinstates the entirety of a $75,000 trial verdict won by Megan against Gramz for defamation, infliction of emotional distress and sharing deepfake pornography.
A jury sided with the rapper (Megan Pete) in December to find that Gramz (born Milagro Cooper) spread misinformation about Lanez’s 2022 conviction for shooting Megan in the foot. But jurors also determined that Gramz was a member of the media, leading Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga to partially wipe the verdict since Megan’s team did not complete the pre-lawsuit notice process required for defamation claims against journalists.
On Friday, however, Judge Altonaga reversed herself and concluded that Gramz is not actually a journalist for the purposes of this case. That’s because, according to the evidence, the blogger was paid at least $2,500 by Lanez (Daystar Peterson) and his father to post that Megan had lied and tried to “deceive the courts” at Lanez’s criminal trial.
“Because the trial record shows that defendant was commissioned by the Petersons to publish or broadcast the three defamatory statements, the court finds as a matter of law that defendant was not entitled to pre-suit notice,” wrote the judge.
In a Friday statement, Megan said the ruling “is a reminder that the truth matters and ultimately prevails.”
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“I’m truly grateful for the judge’s thoughtful and thorough consideration in reinstating the jury’s defamation verdict and holding the defendant fully accountable for all of her actions,” added Megan. “I’m ready to finally close this chapter, and I hope this sends a powerful message that spreading lies and defamatory statements has clear consequences.”
Gramz and Lanez’s lawyers did not immediately return requests for comment.
Lanez is serving a 10-year prison sentence for shooting Megan in the foot during a drunken argument following a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s house in the Hollywood Hills. He continues to maintain his innocence, though the conviction has been upheld multiple times on appeal.
Gramz, a loyal Lanez supporter, used her social media presence to doubt the veracity of Megan’s account for years. Many of her posts about the shooting case have been outright false, such as her claims that Lanez’s gun went “missing.” Megan’s lawsuit also accused Gramz of violating a Florida law against “altered sexual depictions” by encouraging followers to watch a deepfake pornographic video of her.
Gramz denied being paid by Lanez and said her social media posts were First Amendment-protected journalism. Gramz will now have to pay financial damages to Megan, though Judge Altonaga recently declined to issue an injunction curbing the blogger’s posts going forward.
