Jury Awards Megan Thee Stallion $59,000 in Blogger Lawsuit

A federal jury in Miami sided with rapper Megan Thee Stallion on Monday, finding blogger Milagro Cooper liable for intentionally inflicting emotional distress and promoting an altered sexual depiction in a lawsuit stemming from online harassment linked to the artist's 2020 shooting. The nine-member panel, consisting of five men and four women, awarded Megan Pete, whose stage name is Megan Thee Stallion, $75,000 in damages, though U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga reduced the amount to $59,000 after striking a portion related to defamation.

The case arose from a July 15, 2020, incident in Los Angeles, where Pete was shot in the foot following a party at Kylie Jenner's home. Rapper Tory Lanez, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, was convicted in December 2022 on three felony charges: assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a conviction recently upheld on appeal. Pete testified against Lanez during his trial, and the current lawsuit accused Cooper, who operates online under the name Milagro Gramz, of acting as a surrogate for him by...