Megan Thee Stallion has returned to the courtroom, this time battling both Tory Lanez and blogger Milagro Gramz in her ongoing defamation lawsuit against the pair. On Nov. 17, the 30-year-old rapper and Milagro appeared for the trial’s opening day. Milagro made her first testimony, though things quickly took a turn for Tory Lanez. According to court filings obtained by TMZ, Lanez, 33, and his attorney were found in contempt of court.
Megan’s legal team attempted to depose Tory on three separate occasions so he could provide sworn testimony, but they say each attempt was derailed by his disruptive behavior, most recently on Nov. 15. Attorneys claim Tory stormed out of the deposition, hurling expletives at counsel. They also allege his attorney, Crystal Morgan, tried to coach him and failed to ensure he answered questions properly, prompting the judge to hold her in contempt as well.
The judge issued a $20,000 fine against Tory for obstructing Megan’s repeated deposition efforts, while Morgan was ordered to pay $5,000 for her role in the obstruction and for violating professional standards, TMZ noted.
Why has Megan Thee Stallion filed a defamation case against Milagro Gramz and Tory Lanez?
This current defamation case stems from Megan’s 2024 lawsuit against Milagro Gramz and Tory Lanez. Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete, filed suit against Milagro—born Milagro Cooper—accusing the blogger of accepting money from Tory Lanez to orchestrate a smear campaign against her. The alleged campaign began after Lanez’s 2020 arrest and subsequent conviction for shooting Megan. He is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for the incident.
In February, Billboard reported that Judge Altonaga allowed Megan’s case to move forward, citing Megan’s claim that Milagro violated Florida law by sharing a pornographic deepfake of the rapper. Milagro’s attorneys argued she merely “liked” the post on X (formerly Twitter), but the judge disagreed, finding that her actions extended beyond simply liking the post.
The judge wrote, according to Billboard:
“By ‘liking’ an X.com post that featured the deepfake video, the video was exhibited on defendant’s X.com account’s ‘Likes’ page.” She added that: “Defendant also brought the video ‘before the public’ when she allegedly directed viewers of her post to click on her ‘Likes’ page where the video had been archived.”
According to TMZ, on Monday, Megan arrived in court with four attorneys and a sizable team of legal assistants, fully prepared for trial. Milagro, accompanied by three lawyers, reportedly appeared tense and avoided eye contact with Megan throughout the day. Legal Affairs and Trials with Meghann Cuniff noted that Milagro testified Monday in a federal Miami courthouse that she merely “spoke” about the pornographic deepfake circulating online of the rapper and did not share the video.
“Unfortunately, sex tapes are something of the public interest. It came up, and I spoke about it,” Cooper said as the first witness in the federal trial on Monday.
Her attorney argued in opening statements that Milagro never posted or distributed the video, an important point in Megan’s allegation that Milagro knowingly shared the doctored sexual image. Megan’s suit also includes two additional claims: defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Jurors then heard audio of Milagro telling followers she had liked the video and instructed them to “go to my likes.” They also listened to her speculate about whether the video was authentic, saying: “This has got to be A.I. [artificial intelligence],” Milagro said.
During Megan’s lawyer, Marie Hayrapetian’s 20-minute opening statement, the jury of five men and four women viewed the explicit video. She apologized to the jurors before playing it, warning, “I want to acknowledge how disturbing this is… Imagine having to sit in court and watch this play for a room full of strangers. That’s what we’re asking Megan to do today, but you need to see it to understand what Milagro Cooper promoted.”
Hayrapetiana also played a recording of Milagro Gramz commenting about Megan, beginning with: “At the end of the day, a b–h lying on somebody is low down. So believe what the f–k you want to believe.”
Milagro was also heard saying she wanted to “slap” Megan, according to Legal Affairs and Trials With Meghann Cuniff.
“This case,” Hayrapetian argued, “is about someone who wasn’t there that night, the defendant, Milagro Cooper. She didn’t see the fear or the blood or the gun, but she saw something else: Her shot had the spotlight.” She added, “This case is about what Milagro Cooper did with her shot at the spotlight.”
Hayrapetiana added that jurors will hear how Milagro “turned attacking Megan into her brand, how she coordinated with Tory Lanez and his team, how she built her platform by tearing Megan down.”
Notably, just last week, Tory lost his appeal in California for his 2020 conviction. He will continue to serve his 10-year sentence for shooting Megan Thee Stallion. In June, a gag order was placed on Milagro Gramz at the request of Megan to prevent the blogger from spreading misinformation about her.
RELATED: Conviction Confirmed: Court Denies Tory Lanez’s Appeal In Megan Thee Stallion Shooting Case
