Cardi B shared her reaction to winning her federal libel lawsuit against blogger Tasha K as the amount of damages keep climbing.
The court awarded a sizable judgment against Tasha K, real name Latasha Kebe, in what appears to be a precedent set for bloggers in the social media age. On Tuesday, the court re-convened to deliberate on whether punitive damages and other costs would be awarded against the defendant. Reports are that the court awarded legal costs to Cardi B as well as punitive damages against Tasha K and costs for the rapper’s medical expenses.
Rolling Stone reporter Nancy Dillon says the Georgia federal court awarded all of the requested expenses and attorneys’ fees, which amounted to $1,338,753.47. it also awarded punitive damage in the amount of $1.5 million ($1 million against Tasha K and $500k against her company).
The total breakdown now sees Cardi B being awarded $1.2 million in general damages for pain and suffering and/ or reputational injury, $1.5 million in punitive damages to punish the defendant for her egregious conduct, as well as $250,000 for medical expenses and costs to the plaintiff for legal fees for her team of high-powered attorneys. The rapper had hired four lawyers from two law firms to take on the case.
According to Dillon, Cardi made a statement following the judgment.
“After almost four years of repeated libel and slander against me, being able to walk away from this victorious brings me great happiness. …I am grateful for the jury and their careful deliberation over the past two weeks.”
She added, “During this trial, all of you have learned about the darkest time in my life. That moment in time was fueled by the vile, disgusting, and completely false narratives that were repeatedly and relentlessly being shared online. I thought I would never be heard or vindicated…”
"During this trial, all of you have learned about the darkest time in my life. That moment in time was fueled by the vile, disgusting, and completely false narratives that were repeatedly and relentlessly being shared online. I thought I would never be heard or vindicated…"
— Nancy Dillon (@Nancy__Dillon) January 25, 2022
The rapper previously broke her silence online after the first day of the trial ending, where she said she was happy but still sad.
The rapper did not explain why she felt sad, but it was her first Twitter post since the news was announced that she had won against Tasha K.
“Why am I happy but sad at the same time?”
Why am I happy but sad at the same time?
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) January 25, 2022
The rapper sued the YouTube blogger in 2019 for around 40 videos she had made where she made several damaging and outrageous claims about the rapper such as that Cardi B engaged in sexual activity with a beer bottle as a stripper, that the rapper had contracted herpes, and even had difficulty birthing her daughter Kulture due to the STDs, she had been a prostitute while working as a stripper and that she had cheated on her husband Migos rapper Offset, and also did hard drugs. None of the claims were proved to be true by Tasha K, who, during her testimony, inadvertently admitted that she knowingly made up lies about the rapper.
Yesterday, a federal jury found Tasha K guilty of libel and she is liable to pay $1.25 million in damages to the rapper. She was also found guilty for two other acts of wrongdoing stemming from the YouTube videos – an invasion of privacy through portrayal in a false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress on the rapper.
In the meantime, fans were quick to advise the rapper on dealing with the case.
“She treated you so miserably & you tried to tell her to stop & she didn’t listen. That’s her fault, that’s her decision. She lost this case because she didn’t think, your such a humble person with such a big heart. — Take it easy babes and enjoy this win because you deserve it,” one fan said.
Another added, “Because even though you won this case, it, unfortunately, doesn’t change the fact there will be weirdos who get online and spend their time saying awful things even if they’re untrue. You’re human. I hope you can find peace through all the BS and remember how many people love you.”
“I feel you sweetie but you’re going to be OK. But I’m glad you won but I feel you cause I know you don’t want to see her downfall inspire of what she did to you. I’m going to be praying for you. Love you girl,” another said.
On Twitter, many fans also reacted to the win against Tasha K, a deep financial loss for the YouTuber as her net worth is estimated to be between $500,000 to $1.5 million.
The blogger became popular for her YouTube channel ‘UnWine with Tasha K,’ which has more than a million subscribers and features gossip on celebrities mainly.
She also has more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and a few sponsorship deals.
In the meantime, the blogger also reacted to the loss as she posted that lawsuits come with the territory of what she does. On Tuesday, she even posted an image of herself and her husband with an optimistic post “the morning of” with the heart emoji and wine glasses.”
At the same time, there is also a raging debate online about bloggers who believe that they can escape liability for their words and actions.
“This oughta make ppl think twice before they start talking about ppl and starting rumors,” one person commented on Instagram.
“You can’t just be lying on folks and reporting false stories. Let’s hope this trend continues into reporting,” another said.
