A day after a jury ordered YouTuber Tasha K to pay $1.25 million for defaming Cardi B by posting false rumors, the jurors on Tuesday (Jan. 25) tacked on $1.5 million more in punitive damages and ordered the blogger to repay the star’s $1.3 million legal bill.
Tasha K, who’s real name is Latasha Kebe, and her company are now facing more than $4 million in penalties after jurors issued a verdict Monday that fully sided with accusations that she waged a “malicious campaign” to hurt Cardi B’s reputation by posting false claims on the internet, including that the star contracted herpes and performed a shocking sex act with a beer bottle.
At time of publishing, a formal verdict form had not yet been filed in court, but the details of Tuesday’s new damages awards were conveyed to Billboard by Cardi B’s legal team. Kebe’s attorneys did not return a request for comment.
Moving forward, Kebe’s attorneys can challenge the verdicts to the federal district judge overseeing the case. If he upholds the verdict as expected, she can then appeal the outcome to a federal appeals court.
Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Almánzar, sued Kebe in 2019 over dozens of videos that contained shocking claims about the rapper. One video cited in the lawsuit includes a statement that Cardi B “f—ed herself with beer bottles on f—ing stripper stages.” Others said she had contracted herpes; that she had been a prostitute; that she had cheated on her husband; and that she had done hard drugs.
A trial kicked off on Jan. 10 in Georgia federal court, during which both women took the stand. Cardi B testified that she felt “suicidal” in the wake of Kebe’s videos, and said that “only an evil person could do that sh–.” Kebe initially admitted that she knowingly published lies about the rapper, but she later tried to walk back that statement when examined by her own attorneys.
On Monday, jurors held Kebe legally liable on three separate claims from Cardi B: defamation, invasion of privacy through portrayal in a false light, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They awarded the $1.25 million in “general” damages, aimed to compensate Cardi B for pain and suffering and/or reputational harm, plus medical costs.
Tuesday’s added awards dealt with so-called punitive damages, which are reserved only for more egregious bad behavior. Jurors ordered Kebe to pay $1 million in such damages, and ordered her company Kebe Studios LLC to pay another $500,000.
The jury also ordered Kebe to reimburse Cardi B for the money she spent to bring the lawsuit – another remedy typically available only in exceptional circumstances. They awarded $1,338,753.47, which was the full amount sought by her attorneys.
Cardi B was represented in the trial by Lisa F. Moore and William A. Pequignot of the law firm Moore Pequignot LLC and by Gary P. Adelman and Sarah M. Matz of Adelman Matz PC. Kebe was represented by Sadeer Sabbak and Olga Izmaylova of Sabbak & Izmaylova PC.