The jury reached its verdict after roughly two days of deliberation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, finding Cooper liable for defamation per se, intentional infliction of emotional distress and promotion of an altered sexual depiction. The trial lasted eight days.
Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, brought her lawsuit to Miami federal court in October 2024, alleging that Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, whose real name is Daystar Peterson, paid Cooper to serve as an "online rumor mill churning out falsehoods" since his 2020 indictment accusing him of shooting Pete in the foot. A Los Angeles jury convicted Peterson of felony assault with a deadly weapon in 2022, and he is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence.
Cooper gave a statement to reporters outside the Miami federal courthouse following the verdict, expressing relief that the damages weren't as large as she expected.
"I'm not ecstatic," Cooper said. "Of course you want things to go your way. But like I said, I respect the jury and what they decided. I'm just happy to be moving forward. It wasn't a multimillion-dollar verdict, so I think that's a blessing."
The jury's verdict against Cooper includes $50,000 in compensatory damages for sharing the deepfake video, $15,000 in compensatory damages and $1,000 in punitive damages for defamation, and $8,000 in compensatory damages and $1,000 in punitive damages for emotional distress.
In addition, the jury found Cooper was acting in the capacity of a member of the media but wasn't impartially disseminating information to the public.
According to Pete's complaint, Cooper traveled to California from Houston to attend Peterson's criminal trial and "consistently spread misinformation" through her daily livestreams and social media posts. Pete alleged some of Cooper's statements amounted to witness intimidation.
Marie Hayrapetian of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, Pete's attorney, told jurors during opening statements Nov. 17 that Cooper saw Pete's trial as "her shot at the spotlight" and coordinated with Peterson's team in order to attack the female rapper.
Nathacha Bien-Aime of Bien-Aime Law Firm, who represented Cooper, said that her client didn't knowingly share the deepfake porn video and was relaying public information from Peterson's trial.
Cooper took the stand Nov. 17, testifying that scrutiny should have been placed on the person who made the video, instead of her.
Pete and her attorneys did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment Monday.
Pete is represented by John O'Sullivan, Daniel L. Humphrey, Mari F. Henderson, Marie Hayrapetian, Bomie Lee, Julian T. Schoen and Joanna E. Menillo of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
Cooper is represented by Jeremy McLymont of AsiliA Law Firm PA, Laisa Ene Pertet of Lerner Arnold & Winston LLP, Nathacha Bien-Aime of the Bien-Aime Law Firm and Ronda Dixon of Dixon Justice Center APC.
The case is Pete v. Cooper, case number 1:24-cv-24228, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
--Additional reporting by Carolina Bolado. Editing by Marygrace Anderson.
Update: This story has been updated to include additional information.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
