Megan Thee Stallion triumphed over Milagro Gramz in court, yet the ruling emphasizes a strict stance on free speech
A federal judge has denied Megan Thee Stallion’s request for a permanent injunction against blogger Milagro Gramz, also referred to as Milagro Cooper, after the rapper’s recent courtroom win in their cyberstalking case.
Recent court documents reveal that the judge rejected Megan’s attempt to obtain future restrictions following a jury’s determination that Cooper was liable for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and the promotion of a deepfake video featuring the artist.
Jurors awarded Megan $75,000 in damages related to emotional distress and the dissemination of the altered content.
Even with that verdict, the court indicated that those findings did not inherently grant Megan the right to an injunction preventing Cooper from future actions. Despite Megan’s claims of ongoing harassment after the verdict, the judge ruled that she had not met the legal standard.
The ruling indicated that there was no evidence to suggest that Cooper made any attempts to physically track Megan, attend her performances, or reach out to her directly. The lack of those actions significantly influenced the court’s evaluation.
The judge further indicated that Megan had already obtained the remedy explicitly provided by law in the form of monetary damages. The order indicated that, although courts can provide broader relief, there was insufficient basis for it in this case.
The court addressed the claims of ongoing harm, stating that Megan did not demonstrate a genuine and immediate threat but rather relied on speculation regarding future conduct.
The ruling additionally indicated that approving the request would constitute a “prior restraint” on her First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The court thus chose not to impose future restrictions on Cooper’s expression rights at this time, while upholding the jury’s damages award and allowing Megan to retain her prior monetary recovery from the civil case following the trial proceedings this year, as documented in federal court records publicly filed on Monday afternoon in the docket of the Texas district court.
