- Judge rules blogger was paid by Tory Lanez’s family to publish defamatory statements, waiving right to pre-suit notice.
- Jury awards Megan damages for defamation, emotional distress, and promotion of altered sexual video.
- Case highlights emotional toll on Megan, who considered suicide due to public humiliation.
Another day, another win for Megan Thee Stallion! On Friday, Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga officially reinstated a $75,000 jury verdict against blogger Milagro Gramz, ruling in favor of thee legal repercussions rapper.
The new ruling reverses the court’s previous decision to set aside the award on technical grounds, marking a definitive victory in Megan Thee Stallion’s defamation case.
As previously reported legal decision stems from a civil trial in Florida last year, where a jury originally found Gramz, whose real name is Milagro Cooper, liable for dragging Meg’s name through the mud after being shot by Tory Lanez.
However, Judge Altonaga initially threw out the defamation portion of the financial award after determining that Cooper qualified as a “media defendant,” which is a legal designation that would have required Megan’s legal team to provide her with advance notice before officially filing the lawsuit. Because Cooper never received that pre-suit notice, the judge originally reduced the overall financial penalty from $75,000 down to $59,000.
Upon further reflection and a thorough review of the trial records, Judge Altonaga changed course. According to Rolling Stone, the judge ruled that while Cooper could technically be considered a media defendant in general contexts, she was not entitled to those specific protections for the three defamatory statements in question. The evidence presented during the civil trial proved that Cooper was acting as a paid agent for convicted rapper Tory Lanez (Daystar Peterson) and his father, Sonstar Peterson.
In her updated ruling, Judge Altonaga noted that the trial record clearly demonstrated an agreement between the blogger and the Peterson family. Cooper was found to have received direct financial payments from Sonstar, obtained insider information from Lanez’s legal team before mainstream media outlets could access it, and routinely sent materials to assist with Lanez’s criminal defense.
“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,” the judge wrote in the ruling. “The court does not find that defendant could never be considered a media defendant and only reaches defendant’s role in publishing the three statements the jury determined were defamatory.”
Because Cooper was explicitly commissioned by the family to publish statements suggesting Megan lied about Tory Lanez shooting her in both feet back in 2020, the court found as a matter of law that she waived her right to pre-suit notice. With the procedural hurdle cleared, Cooper now legally owes the full $75,000 judgment awarded to the rapper.
Furthermore, the jury found Cooper liable for intentionally inflicting emotional distress by actively expanding the digital reach of a sexually explicit deepfake video that artificially depicted Megan engaging in explicit acts. Cooper used her social media platform to guide her 100,000-plus followers directly to the video.
Megan Thee Stallion’s Defamation Case Highlights Emotional Toll
The emotional toll of the coordinated attacks was a major focal point of Meg’s defamation case. A previously reported, during her emotional testimony in a Miami courtroom, Megan admitted that the public humiliation of the deepfake porn made her consider taking her own life, forcing her to undergo $240,000 worth of therapy to process the trauma of the shooting, the victim-blaming backlash, and the digital harassment.
The final breakdown of the restored $75,000 judgment includes $15,000 for defamation, $8,000 for emotional distress, and $50,000 for the promotion of the altered video, alongside an additional $2,000 in punitive damages.
Following the late-week ruling, Megan—born Megan Pete—released an emotional statement celebrating the judge’s decision to hold the blogger completely accountable for the smear campaign.
“Today’s ruling is a reminder that the truth matters and ultimately prevails,” Megan said. “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. 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.”
Milagro’s team has not released a statement at this time.
