Cardi B has been awarded $1.25 million in damages in a defamation lawsuit.
The rapper took legal action against YouTuber Tasha K, whose real name is Latasha Kebe, after she published a series of “slanderous and defamatory statements” about her.
On Monday, a jury in the US state of Georgia found Latasha was liable for defamation, invasion of privacy, and for causing the singer emotional distress.
According to documents obtained by the PA news agency, the YouTube star was ordered to pay a total of $1.25 million to Cardi B – whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar.
During the case, the WAP rapper’s lawyers said Latasha had waged “a malicious campaign to damage and destroy [Cardi B’s] reputation among her fans and the consuming public”.
Latasha is the host of the YouTube channel UnWineWithTashaK, a “celebrity gossip site” that has over a million subscribers.
Lawyers for Cardi B said the channel was used for Latasha to “publish and spread malicious rumours, slanderous assertions, and false information about celebrities … for her personal financial gain”.
They said she had started making “degrading and harassing statements” in early 2018, and said the comments and videos had caused their client “embarrassment, humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional distress”.
Cardi B previously said she felt “extremely suicidal”, developed fatigue, anxiety, weight loss and migraines as a result of the defamatory posts.
