A Miami jury on Monday found Milagro Cooper, better known as online media personality “Milagro Gramz,” liable for defaming Megan Thee Stallion.
At the heart of the defamation case was the promotion of a sexually explicit deepfake video of Megan, coordinated by Tory Lanez, causing emotional distress.
Jurors initially awarded Megan $75,000 in damages before U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga reduced the award to $59,000, according to NBC News.
When caught outside the courtroom, Megan told photographers, “I’m just happy” after feeling vindicated by the jury.
The Grammy Award-winning rapper sued Cooper in 2024, accusing her of being a “mouthpiece,” “puppet”, and “paid surrogate” for Lanez following Megan’s testimony in the 2023 trial, where Lanez stood accused of shooting her in July 2020. Megan contended that Cooper did not create the deepfake video, but rather helped promote it by liking the video on her X account and directing her fans to her likes.
“I’m not ecstatic,” Cooper said outside the courtroom after the verdict was read. “Of course, you want things to go your way. But like I said, I respect the jury and what they decided.”
In court testimony, Travis Ferris, Megan’s former manager, testified that she underwent extensive therapy worth up to $240,000 after the promotion of the deepfake video. Megan’s legal team also confirmed that Megan was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following the shooting and the information was verified by Dr. Lenore Walker, who also took the stand in the case.
Roc Nation’s Senior VP of Branding & Strategic Partnerships, Daniel Kinney, testified that Megan “could not capitalize on opportunities as she was unable to be fully present in her career because of Ms. Cooper’s ongoing campaign of harassment.” According to legal reporter Meghann Cuniff, those deals included Activision, Google Pixel, Just Eat’s Takeaway and the U.S. Women’s Soccer Federation. The Activision deal was for “Call of Duty,” a war simulation video game where Megan would have been a playable character. Ultimately, the deal went to Nicki Minaj.
Lanez—who was convicted of assault with a semiautomatic firearm; having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle; and discharging a firearm with gross negligence in 2022 and sentenced to 10 years in prison—was fined $20,000 along with his lawyer for “obstruction” after Lanez, born Daystar Peterson, refused to answer questions from Megan’s lawyers regarding the Cooper lawsuit. He also has a restraining order against him, ordering him to stay away from Megan until January 2030.
