Megan Thee Stallion is back in federal court asking a Florida judge to reinstate a defamation verdict against blogger Milagro Gramz that was thrown out on a technicality as a “media defendant.”
The Grammy-winning rapper accused Gramz of launching an online smear campaign funded by Tory Lanez’s family.
Meghan’s lawyers said the jury had found in her favor on all counts, including defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and promotion of altered sexual description.
But after the jury also answered that Gramz was a “media defendant,” the judge invoked Florida’s pre-suit notification law for journalists and removed the defamation count from the final verdict.
Megan Thee Stallion and her attorneys called the move a “clear legal error.” They said the court had twice previously ruled that Gramz was not a media defendant and therefore not entitled to those protections.
“On the merits, this case should have been tried and it was rightly tried. [Megan Thee Stallion’s] defamation claim,” the filing states.
The rapper’s legal team detailed why Gramz should not be considered media. According to trial evidence, Milagro-Gramtz was not neutral or independent; she allegedly acted as a paid spokesperson for Lanez and her father, Sonsta Peterson.
Meghan’s attorney said Gramz received a $3,000 payment, free trips and gifts while spreading false news that Meghan lied about being shot.
Evidence of text messages and Instagram direct messages showed Gramz identifying herself as a member of the Peterson family and publicly denying that journalistic ethics “do not apply” to her.
Jurors heard Gramz built his brand of “gangster radio” by attacking Meghan’s reputation, accusing her of mental illness, alcoholism and fabricating the 2020 shooting. Although jurors found the statements defamatory, they were puzzled by a last-minute legal issue added to the verdict: whether Grammtz qualified as a media defendant.
Their “yes” answer led to the court dropping the defamation charges, although Meghan still won on her emotional distress and deepfake video charges.
Megan Thee Stallion and lawyers are now seeking to have the defamation verdict reinstated, claiming the “media defendants'” questions were inappropriate. They said the jury had no authority to decide on legal classifications that had been settled by the courts.
“No court has extended the status of a media defendant to a defendant who provides and receives information affecting a criminal proceeding while maintaining a paid and intimate relationship with the defendant,” the motion states.
Meghan’s motion asks the judge to remove the jury’s media assignments and reinstate the original verdict for defamation itself. The court has not yet ruled on her request.
