Cardi B's defamation lawsuit against YouTuber Tasha K explained
5 April 2022, 14:17
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How did Cardi B win $4 million in her defamation lawsuit against Tasha K? Here's everything we know about the case
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Cardi B was awarded $4.1 million dollars in damages after winning her lawsuit against YouTube blogger Tasha Kebe, after suing her for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Cardi B 'suicidal' after being hit with false claims by blogger
Back in January, the 'WAP' rapper spoke out for the first time about the emotional trauma she faced during the ongoing lawsuit with Tasha, admitted to having suicidal thoughts over fake claims that she had herpes, was a prostitute and suffered from drug abuse.
UPDATE (April 5)
A federal judge in Atlanta has ordered Tasha K to remove all the clips, videos and social posts about Cardi B that was dubbed as false and defamatory in the court hearting within the next five days.
The blogger was told in court that she can no longer post or report any of the allegations she made about Cardi. In new documents filed by Cardi B's legal team, they noted that in the wake of the January verdict, not all of the content containing the defamatory statements had been removed from defendants’ social media accounts'.
Tasha K's legal team formally filed a notice of appeal on behalf of the 39-year-old blogger and media personality on Thursday, March 17, exactly one month after a jury held her liable over claims she made about Cardi on YouTube, according to court documents acquired.
"The above-named Defendants, Latasha Kebe and Kebe Studios LLC, appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit from the final judgment entered on February 17, 2022" the court filings reads.
Back in February, Tasha appeared on the Kendall Kyndall and Kendra G's chat show 'Social Society', where she was asked 'if she has the amount of money to pay the lawsuit and whether she was worth that much money'.
She responded saying: "Listen, I ain't got it. Don't ask me for no money. I ain't got it. But listen, we have business things in place that takes care of things like this".
What was the lawsuit about?
The lawsuit, which was filed in March 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, claimed that Tasha became obsessed with slandering and harassing Cardi B – whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar – putting out at least 38 videos regarding the rapper's personal life.
Kebe reportedly also accused Cardi of doing cocaine and MDMA in addition to participating in prostitution, which promoted haters of the rapstar to personally attack her online, specifically under photos of her kissing her daughter Kulture Cephus.
She made several scandalous allegations when Cardi was pregnant with her first child, alleged that the baby may be born with intellectual disabilities.Â
What happened in court?
According to TMZ, the 'Bodak Yellow' rapper told the federal court: "I wanted to commit suicide over the things said about me. I felt defeated and depressed and I didn't want to sleep with my husband".
When asked in court about the blogger's claims, Cardi emotionally responded: "I felt like only a demon could do that sh*t" before apologising to the judge for swearing.
She also added that her depression made her feel like she 'didn't deserve her kid', bursting into tears, repeating that the experience had left her feeling suicidal, as well as fatigue, anxiety, weight loss, and migraines.
How much did Cardi B win?
Originally, Cardi was awarded $1.25 million in general damages as well $250,000 for medical expenses, however, it's now being claimed that an additional $1.5 million in punitive damages, plus $1.3 million for her attorney's fees has also been awarded.
Cardi’s statement on her civil lawsuit victory part 1- pic.twitter.com/sTRiTqnrp3
— m - money stan ✨ (@fentybardi) January 25, 2022
Has Cardi made a statement?
Yes, after leaving the court, the rapper made a statement, thanking Judge Ray for victorious win. You can read the full statement on Variety.
"After almost four years of repeated libel and slander against me, being able to walk away from this victorious brings me great happiness. I appreciate Judge Ray for conducting a fair and impartial trial. I am grateful for the jury and their careful deliberation over the past two weeks" the first half of the statement reads.
She continues: "I am profoundly grateful for the hard work and support from my legal team. Most importantly, thank you to my family and close friends who held my hand and helped me get the support I needed during this experience".
Has Tasha K responded?
Yes. Tasha Kebe – who's real name is Latasha Kebe – first spoke out about the case tweeting: "I will be making my FIRST and ONLY statement about the case Wednesday 1/26/22 at 7pm est on my @YouTube channel".
On Jan 26, the blogger took to Twitter to address the verdict tweeting:
"No LIES were told on anyone. I never admitted to lying about anything. Noone threw anyone under the bus. Mostly everything reported was a lie from the inside. The Court Transcripts will be available to the public soon. I forgot to add this into my speech. Read Them".
Exclusive | Tasha K's Official Statement on The Verdict.
She also live streamed her official statement, explaining what happened whilst promising to fight the $4 million dollar loss.
"These last four years fighting this conspiracy case, have been extremely challenging … The verdict handed down on Monday was no shock to myself, my husband or my legal team".
She continued: "We called bluff against a machine that wanted to bully me for not wavering from my personal beliefs. A machine that has corporate interests to protect prostitution, drug use, promiscuity and to glorify the violence that wreaks havoc in our society and in our neighborhood".
What is Tasha K's net worth?
According to hitc.com, Tasha K's accumulated net worth is $1.5 million. She makes most of her money from her YouTube channel.
