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Megan Thee Stallion sues blogger over “defamatory falsehoods” related to Tory Lanez shooting
Megan Thee Stallion is suing blogger Milagro Gramz and accusing her of purposely spreading false information on behalf of rapper Tory Lanez, who was found guilty of shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot in 2020.
The rapper, 29, filed the lawsuit on Wednesday in the Southern District of Florida under her legal name, Megan Pete, against the popular content creator who is legally known as Milagro Elizabeth Cooper.
In the lawsuit, Pete’s attorneys accuse Cooper of intentionally causing the hip hop star emotional distress by cyberstalking, promoting and sharing deep fake pornography of Pete, in addition to questioning if she was actually shot.
The lawsuit calls Cooper a “puppet” for Lanez during and after his high-profile trial, where Pete testified that Lanez shot her feet five times after an argument escalated. A jury convicted Lanez on multiple charges, including assault with a semiautomatic firearm and discharging a firearm with gross negligence. Lanez was sentenced in 2023 to 10 years in prison.
“The jury got it right,” Megan Thee Stallion’s attorney, Alex Spiro, told CBS News in a statement following the trial. “I am thankful there is justice for Meg.”
In an exclusive interview with “CBS Mornings” in 2022, Pete explained why she wanted to tell her side of the shooting story.
“I feel like people create these narratives about you and when you don’t stand up for yourself, they just run and they go and people are able to stack lies on top of more lies, on top of more lies,” she told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King two years ago. “I just really want to take control over my own narrative.”
Pete said in a statement regarding the lawsuit, “… These individuals need to understand there will be repercussions for recklessly posting lies and defamatory falsehoods.”
CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson said she thinks Pete has a strong case.
“What she’s alleged here are a variety of different torts and a state cause of action, essentially about deep fakes,” Levinson said. “She’s saying that there’s intentional infliction of emotional distress, cyberbullying, false statements, based on her complaint. It might make people think twice before they engage in cyberbullying or defamation.”
CBS News reached out to Cooper’s representatives, who have yet to comment on the lawsuit.
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FTC sends $2.5 million to Credit Karma customers it says were deceived by “pre-paid” credit offers
Credit Karma customers who were deceived by the credit service’s company’s alleged false “pre-approved” offers will get $2.5 million from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC on Thursday announced that it is sending payments to nearly 51,000 consumers who filed a valid claim with the commission before a March deadline.
It first took action against Credit Karma in 2022, after claiming that around one-third of some customers who were “pre-approved” for credit by the company were in fact denied. The FTC claimed Credit Karma pre-approved customers to entice them to apply for offers that they were unlikely to qualify for. It allegedly used dark patterns — website or app designs that can mislead consumers — to do so.
Credit Karma, which provides users with tools to monitor their credit scores and reports, told some users that they had “90% odds” of being approved for credit products, according to the FTC. Such practices wasted consumers’ time and could have damaged their credit scores, the agency said.
Credit Karma has agreed to an FTC order requiring it to stop making these types of claims, in addition to compensating those harmed by the practice.
“We fundamentally disagree with allegations the FTC makes in their complaint, which relate solely to statements we ceased making years ago. Any implication that Credit Karma rejected consumers applying for credit cards is simply incorrect, as Credit Karma is not a lender and does not make lending decisions,” the company said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.
“We reached this agreement to put the matter behind us so we can maintain our focus on helping our members find the financial products that are right for them,” the company said.
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