Cardi B won over $4 million in a libel lawsuit against celebrity gossip blogger Tasha K, NBC News reports.
The federal court in Georgia ordered Tasha K., whose real name is Latasha Kebe, to pay $1 million in punitive damages and her company. Kebe Studios LLC, to pay another $500,000 on Tuesday. Also, Kebe must reimburse Cardi for the expenses she accumulated in filing the lawsuit which amounts to $1,338,753.47.
On Monday, Cardi was awarded $1 million for her “pain, suffering and reputational damage, as well as another $250,000 for medical expenses.”
In total, she was awarded almost $4.1 million.
Cardi expressed her gratitude for the litigation finally coming to an end in an official statement released by her legal team.
“After almost four years of repeated libel and slander against me, being able to walk away from this victorious brings me great happiness,” read the statement. “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. 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.”
“During this trial, all of you have learned about the darkest time in my life,” her statement continued. “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 and I felt completely helpless and vulnerable. I have never taken for granted the platform that my fame allows me to have, which is why for over three years I dedicated every resource I had to seek justice.”
In 2019, Cardi sued Kebe claiming she launched a smear campaign of "making blatantly defamatory statements" in promotion of her website "for her personal financial gain."
One of Kebe's videos claimed that Cardi's "then-unborn child may have intellectual disabilities," that she "prostituted for a living," "got herpes" and "took molly and cocaine."
The lawsuit also alleged that Kebe took to Instagram to say that Cardi was "just a Grammy Nominated Prostitute, running around spreading her herpes" and she "has become obsessed with slandering Plaintiff. In the last 14 months, Kebe has put out at least twenty-three videos regarding plaintiff."
Sadeer Sabbak, Kebe’s lawyer, issued a brief statement responding to the verdict on behalf of his client.
“We disagree with the verdict and we will be filing an appeal,” his statement read.
