Milagro Gramz is combating in a Miami federal courtroom to be handled as a journalist to save lots of her case.
The blogger is locked in a high-stakes aspect battle inside Megan Thee Stallion’s defamation trial over whether or not she counts as “media” below Florida legislation, a label that would both protect her or depart her huge open when the jury reaches a verdict.
Megan Thee Stallion sued Milagro in October 2024 in federal courtroom in Miami.
She says the commentator ran a relentless on-line marketing campaign with rapper Tory Lanez that unfold lies, promoted an AI p### deepfake and accused her of mendacity below oath concerning the 2020 capturing in Hollywood Hills.
The trial started Monday, November 17, with a nine-person jury listening to three central claims towards Milagro: defamation for saying Megan dedicated perjury, intentional infliction of emotional misery and promotion of a digitally altered sexual picture.
Within the new submitting, Milagro’s legal professionals argue she is a “media defendant” who deserves the identical authorized protections that cowl information shops, bloggers and digital hosts.
They level to her Stationhead contract with Mobz Radio, the place she broadcasts 5 days every week for 5 hours a day, interviews visitors like Nicki Minaj, Bia, and Choose Joe Brown, and earns nearly six figures with no different revenue exterior media internet hosting.
In addition they be aware her previous work on the On-Web site speak present’s “Messy Mondays” phase, her HBO commentary look and her YouTube channel that covers high-profile trials and celeb disputes.
Beneath Florida legislation, individuals who operate as media should get written discover earlier than they’re sued for defamation in order that they have an opportunity to appropriate or retract their statements.
If Choose Cecilia Altonaga guidelines that Milagro falls into that class, Megan’s failure to ship that discover may blow up components of the case, put punitive damages at risk, and even result in a dismissal combat over the courtroom’s energy to maintain listening to the claims.
Megan’s group is pushing simply as arduous in the wrong way. In a separate temporary, her legal professionals remind the decide that she had already dominated Milagro was not a media defendant when she refused to dismiss the case earlier this yr, writing that the courtroom “concludes she doesn’t’ qualify.
They now need that view locked in earlier than the jury will get directions.
To drive the purpose residence, Megan’s legal professionals threw Milagro’s personal language again at her.
In livestreams, she admitted, “I didn’t inform anyone I used to be a reporter. I ain’t by no means advised you I went to high school for journalism. You don’t should be a journalist to offer an opinion.”
The trial itself has been intense.
She advised the courtroom she is suing as a result of she is bored with Milagro “carrying on this narrative that I’m simply such a foul individual and I might lie to place an harmless man in jail,” and stated she hated that the blogger drove individuals to observe “a really disgusting pretend pornographic video” of her.
Outdoors the media combat, jurors will resolve whether or not Milagro lied when she known as Megan a drunk, claimed she had a “extreme ingesting drawback” and advised followers the rapper dedicated perjury in Tory Lanez’s legal case, even after a jury convicted him of capturing Megan and a decide sentenced him to 10 years in jail.
If Milagro wins the journalist battle, she good points a strong protect: Megan would face stricter proof guidelines, potential limits on damages and contemporary arguments over whether or not the case can go ahead in any respect.
If the decide sticks along with her earlier view that Milagro shouldn’t be media, the blogger loses that safety and walks the remainder of this trial on a tightrope with far much less security internet.
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